34 Facts About Shaun Edwards

1.

Shaun Edwards, OBE was born on 17 October 1966 and is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team.

2.

Shaun Edwards played for Wigan in the Championship and Super League between 1983 and 1997, and had spells with Balmain Tigers, London Broncos and Bradford Bulls.

3.

Shaun Edwards was voted Man of Steel in 1990 and is an inductee of the Wigan Hall of Fame.

4.

Shaun Edwards played 36 times for Great Britain, as well as for England in 1995 and 1996 and Ireland in 1998.

5.

Shaun Edwards joined France in 2020 and won the Grand Slam in 2022.

6.

Shaun Edwards was England schoolboy captain at both rugby league and rugby union, and had been pursued by several clubs.

7.

Shaun Edwards's son James was an academy player at Wasps and played at scrum-half.

8.

Shaun Edwards is a Roman Catholic, and his uncle, Fr John Johnson, is the sub-dean of Wigan and the parish priest of St John's and St Mary's churches in the town.

9.

Later in the season Wigan reached the final of the 1984 Challenge Cup, and Shaun Edwards played at fullback in their loss to Widnes.

10.

Shaun Edwards played in Wigan's 1987 World Club Challenge victory over Sydney's Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

11.

Shaun Edwards was selected to go on the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour.

12.

Shaun Edwards played for Sydney club the Balmain Tigers when they reached the 1989 NSWRL season's grand final, for which he was selected on the interchange bench.

13.

In 1990, Shaun Edwards received the Man of Steel Award after he played most of the Challenge Cup Final against Warrington with a broken cheekbone and eye socket, after receiving a high, off the ball tackle in the 10th minute.

14.

Shaun Edwards refused to be substituted and played on to set up three of Wigan's tries.

15.

Shaun Edwards played in Wigan's 1991 World Club Challenge victory over Sydney's Penrith Panthers.

16.

Shaun Edwards was then selected to go on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand.

17.

Shaun Edwards played in Wigan's 1994 World Club Challenge win over the Brisbane Broncos in Australia which attracted a World Club Challenge record attendance of 54,220, and played in the first game of the 1996 cross-code challenge series against Bath.

18.

Shaun Edwards played in every round of Wigan's eight consecutive Challenge Cup wins.

19.

Shaun Edwards played his last game for the club against St Helens in the Challenge Cup defeat at Knowsley Road in 1997.

20.

Shaun Edwards left Wigan that year to move near his son James, signing for the London Broncos.

21.

Shaun Edwards fell out with new coach Eric Hughes, who refused Edwards permission to miss the first training session of each week, in order for him to spend time with his son in London.

22.

The decision to allow Shaun Edwards to leave the club led to multiple complaints from Wigan fans.

23.

Shaun Edwards was the youngest ever player to play for Great Britain when he played against France in 1985.

24.

Shaun Edwards was sent off for a high tackle on Bradley Clyde in the first Ashes test match of 1994 at Wembley.

25.

Shaun Edwards played for Great Britain 36 times, starting 32 games with a further four from the substitutes bench, and scored 16 tries.

26.

Shaun Edwards was England's captain for the 1995 World Cup tournament, but ruled himself out of the final against Australia with an infected knee.

27.

In 2001, Shaun Edwards joined London Wasps in rugby union as a defence and backs coach, taking over as head coach in 2005 after Warren Gatland returned to New Zealand.

28.

Shaun Edwards teamed up with Gatland again, after the latter was appointed head coach of Wales: Shaun Edwards had been offered the job of coaching England's second-tier side, England Saxons, but preferred the assistant coach position with Wales.

29.

Shaun Edwards left his position at London Wasps in November 2011.

30.

Since joining the Wales coaching team, Shaun Edwards has helped the nation to Grand Slam wins in 2008,2012 and 2019 as well the Six Nations title in 2013.

31.

Shaun Edwards was named Rugby World International Coach of the Year in 2008.

32.

Shaun Edwards described it as an opportunity too special to turn down.

33.

Shaun Edwards had a long-term relationship with M People singer Heather Small, with whom he has a son, Labour Party councillor James Small-Shaun Edwards.

34.

Shaun Edwards is the patron of Looseheadz, a charity raising awareness for mental health.