Hirst got warned of Folau
Shaun can be class act in France
he said. “I am direct and to the point – I try to keep my words to an absolute minimum. That’s in English, so I definitely will be doing so in French.
“But my main thing is to encourage people. Encourage them to work hard to be better and help them in that process.”
Edwards is studying French for 40 minutes each day but for now, Raphael Ibanez and William Servat are his translators in boss Fabien Galthie’s management team.
“We coached a group of 16-year-olds in Paris to get used to working together as a coaching team earlier this month and that was a big help to me,” said Edwards.
“But I need to get to a stage where I can coach properly in French.
“I did French at school but I was probably thinking about rugby most of the time, to be honest.”
With a flat in Toulouse and two young daughters in London, the job is a challenge on a personal level, too, but one he is relishing.
“France have won the last two Under-20s World Cups and there is a lot of potential here,” he said.
“It’s a young, talented, big, fast team which we hope over the next four years is going to develop into a formidable opponent.”
When the sides met at Twickenham 12 months ago France were humiliated 44-8.
“I have a big job on my hands in the build-up to this game,” said Edwards.
“But I’ve been in elite-level sport a long time and it is the big games and the big challenges that get me excited.
“I don’t want to be here just to make the numbers up in the Six Nations. And I don’t think we will be.”
KEEGAN HIRST revealed Catalans coach Steve McNamara phoned him ahead of the Dragons’ capture of Israel Folau.
Rugby league’s only openly gay professional condemned the French club’s signing of the former Aussie rugby union international, who posted a meme last April saying that “hell awaits” homosexuals.
Hirst says the call from McNamara did not change his stance.
“He said he was giving me a call out of respect, but I kind of brushed that to one side, because if that was the case, he wouldn’t have signed him,” said the Halifax prop. “I told him I felt there was two things going on.
“Either Catalans didn’t care what he said, which was worrying, or they did care, but they were willing to put their values to one side for a few extra tries a year and a couple of extra league places.”
Former Wales union great Gareth Thomas said he would never watch Folau play.
Thomas, who came out as gay months before an 18-month spell in league in 2010 and 2011, said: “All I hope is that as much as Folau wanted his right to speak, then players and fans alike are aloud their right to respond.”