Shaun Edwards gives intriguing response over Wales head coach role
Shaun Edwards as France defence coach in 2025 Six Nations.
France defence guru Shaun Edwards has not ruled out returning to Wales and potentially becoming the country’s head coach.
The Welsh Rugby Union are currently looking for their next boss after Warren Gatland departed midway through their disappointing Six Nations campaign.
Wales had been on a run of 14 successive defeats under Gatland when the New Zealander and the WRU decided to mutually part ways.
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt took over in an interim basis and oversaw an improvement against Ireland and Scotland, but they were hammered in their final match by arch-rivals England.
Sherratt revealed that he did not want to take the job full-time, leaving the governing body to begin their search for Gatland’s successor.
Head coach options
Glasgow Warriors boss Franco Smith and Ireland’s defence coach Simon Easterby, who led the team during the Six Nations in Andy Farrell’s absence, have both been heavily linked, while Michael Cheika could also come into the equation.
However, the WRU would surely be interested should Edwards be open to the possibility of taking the role.
He is contracted to France until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but could his head be turned by a head honcho role?
The 58-year-old, who was Wales’ defence coach between 2008 and 2019, was duly asked that question by the Daily Mail, and his response was certainly an interesting one.
“Any role interests me in the future, because I want to coach for as long as possible, particularly in international rugby,” he said.
“I’ve proved myself as a head coach, with a team (Wasps) who won the Heineken Cup, the Premiership and the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
“I know that – from my experiences and the knowledge I’ve got from working with people like Fabien (Galthié) and Gats, and from listening to people from other sports; great football managers etc – I’d be more than capable.
“I’d be very confident about being a head coach, but it doesn’t bother me, as long as I’m in a job where I’m motivated, have good players to work with, who are highly motivated themselves. If I’m assistant coach or head coach, I can do both.”
Edwards pressed
It was a slightly evasive response from Edwards, but the current France coach was certainly not ruling himself out of the job and, as a result, he was pressed on the matter.
He did not budge from his position, however, while the defence guru was not shy in expressing his confidence in his own abilities.
“I’d be interested in any job, whether it be as a head coach or an assistant coach,” Edwards added. “It’s a bit hypothetical but I’d have confidence in being a head coach or an assistant coach.”
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