DON’T MESS WITH

Tough Wiganer Edwards could turn fancydan French into genuine contenders

SHAUN EDWARDS as France defence coach is an interesting prospect – blunt Wiganer meets French fancy dans. What could possibly go wrong?

More to the point, what could go right?

If this marriage of opposites works out, England and the rest of the Six Nations may be in for an uncomfortable time from the championship’s annual underperformers.

Ever since his move from rugby league, Edwards has been regarded as an outstanding coach – one whose influence spreads far beyond the nuts and bolts of knitting a defence together.

He was Warren Gatland’s parade-ground sergeant major with Wasps and Wales for close on 20 years.

The thought of him working with France, who have finished in the bottom half of the table in seven of the past eight seasons, has a scent of kill or cure.

But Edwards could just prove the most influential appointment of the Six Nations if he doesn’t cause a strike at Les Bleus – which he insists he won’t.

“People might have this image of me screaming and shouting, but, if you speak to any of the players I have coached, most of them say it is nonsense,” said Edwards.

“I am direct and to the point – I try to keep my words to a minimum. That’s in English, so I definitely will be doing so in French.

“But my main thing is to encourage people to work hard to be better and help them in that process.”

Edwards is studying

French for 40 minutes each day to expand his vocabulary, but, for the moment, Raphael Ibanez and William Servat are his translators in Fabien Galthie’s management team.

“I did French at school, but I was thinking about rugby most of the time, to be honest,” said Edwards.

With a flat in Toulouse and two young daughters in London, the job is a geographical challenge too, but the raw material makes it worthwhile.

“France have won the last two Under-20s World Cups and there is a lot of potential,” he said. “It’s a talented, big, fast French team, which, over the next four years, will develop into a formidable opponent. Some of these guys aren’t only young and promising – they are young and very good already.”

It is a stretch to think they are far enough advanced yet to beat England. When the sides last met at Twickenham 12 months ago France were humiliated 44-8.

Damage limitation then against the World Cup finalists? You can almost feel Edwards – a serial winner who can count 51 trophies across his professional career as player and coach – bristle.

“I have a big job on my hands in the build-up to this game,” he admitted. “In the last Six Nations, if you take out the Wales one, England averaged 42 points per game, which is unbelievable.

“But I’ve been in elite level sport a long time and it is the big games and big challenges that get me excited.

“I don’t want to be here just to make the numbers up.

I try to keep my words to a minimum. That’s in English so I will definitely be doing so with the French!