WIGAN HAVE ‘VERBAL DEAL’ WITH SHAUN

THE mysterious case of Shaun Edwards’ future employment took a fresh twist last night as Wigan Warriors issued a statement saying they only had a verbal agreement with the 52-year-old, writes DELME PARFITT.

It had been thought Edwards was definitely taking up the head coaching role with the Superleague outfit after completing his duties with Wales at the World Cup later this year.

But defence expert Edwards cast doubt on that happening in the wake of the Grand Slam win against Ireland last weekend, saying he was not actually legally committed to the Warriors and still open to offers from league and union.

In the meantime, Wales coach-in-waiting Wayne Pivac has claimed Edwards was on his short-list to carry on as defensive coach after the World Cup, but had ruled himself out after taking the Wigan job.

WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips, to complicate matters further, subsequently left the door firmly open to Edwards to continue working in Wales.

And now Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan has admitted the agreement between Edwards and his club is only verbal and that their former player IS able to take his pick of jobs after Wales.

Lenagan said he had conducted business on the basis of an oral agreement “on many occasions” and remained determined to bring clarity to the situation, which is “proving to be a difficult and emotive situation for us all to navigate”.