ARU Boss John O’Neill says that they are interested in getting Blues coach David Nucifora back to Australia.
Nucifora is thought to have been the leading candidate to replace John Connolly as Wallabies coach until Crusaders coach entered his name into the hat.
Nucifora however has a contract with the Blues that will see him coaching the Blues until the end of the 2009 Super 14.
Nucifora was coach of the Brumbies in 2004 and then after a player revolt he left Australian shores and took up the coaching job with the Blues. Last year under Nucifora the Blues reached the Semi finals.
O’Neill says that he wants Nucifora to return to Australia at the end of his contract and coach at elite level. “David interviewed extremely well for the coach’s job that ultimately went to Robbie,” he says on Yahoo!Xtra.
“We’d love to see him back coaching in Australia at a head coach level.
“You could say why not as an assistant coach? When we looked at compatibility with and complementing Robbie, David is more of a head coach.
“If there is an opportunity for him to coach at Super 14 level in Australia, we would applaud that.
“Also, we are going to be discussing with David some other potential roles at the elite end. Perhaps the Australia A team and some other responsibilities.”
Australian Super 14 coaches understood to be under the most pressure are Ewen McKenzie (the Waratahs) and Laurie Fisher (the Brumbies).
