Hi mate,
if it needs to go fast you might want to use a projected texture (triplanar fits most situations with complex objects consisting of 1000s of patches). I know texturing nurbs models is a pain in the ass.
when you map a channel with some texture, don´t use the mode: normal but :projection instead befor you hit the file button. you can use the place2dTexture node then to rotate and scale the texture. disadvantage to this system is that there happens a lot of texture smearing. but it is the only way to rapidly texture tons of nurbs patches. also try other types of projection besides triplanar.
if you have time though and you need closeups from the model you can always convert to polygon and map UVs as usual.
everything starts and ends in the right place at the right time.