IRFU turn to NFL with appointment of Head of Athletic Performance and Science

Could this be the man to unlock the All Blacks later this year?

The IRFU have chosen the unfortunate start date of April 1 to get working with one of their smartest acquisitions in years. The union, this afternoon, announced the appointment of Nick Winkelman as Head of Athletic Performance and Science. Winkelman joins from the US based company EXOS, where he held the position of Director of Education and Training Systems. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, EXOS supports over 100 collegiate athletes each year preparing to make their transition into the National Football League through the NFL Combine and Draft process. IRFU performance director, David Nucifora commented:

"Nick is a world leader in his area of expertise and will bring a wealth of knowledge and new capabilities to how we develop, manage and assess the physical performance of our professional players. "The IRFU is committed to securing the best talent to support our athletes and coaches and in Nick we have secured a highly talented and motivated individual whose expertise will greatly benefit Irish rugby."

Winkelman held the title of director of education and was responsible for developing and managing an education department that served the professional development needs of the international EXOS team in addition to thousands of coaches worldwide. Those coaches engaged with the company through a live mentorship programs and an online performance specialist certification. As a performance coach, Nick ran the company's NFL Combine development program for the last seven years, as well as working with athletes in the NBA, NHL and MLB.