The former Wales defensive guru has just picked up his seventh Six Nations title
In rugby, there are coaches in demand and then there is Shaun Edwards.
A seventh Six Nations title last weekend served as another reminder, as if any more were needed, that few are as good as Wales’ former defensive guru.
For nearly two decades, he has been a constant in the Six Nations. Nineteen straight tournaments coaching in the northern hemisphere’s showpiece event, with seven titles – four of which were Grand Slams.
The game has changed somewhat since he first started coaching in the Six Nations.
In his first Six Nations, Wales’ Grand Slam success in 2008 was built upon conceding just two tries across the five matches.
His latest title with France saw his side concede 19 tries.
“In modern rugby, it’s so hard to defend at the moment. If teams have a lot of possession against you, they’re going to get penalties and points at some stage,” he told WalesOnline earlier in the tournament.
Yet, he remains a winner.
He famously keeps track of the prize money that his defensive work generates for the unions that employ him. It’s estimated to be around €50 million.
Yet there’s more to win.
A 20th straight Six Nations next year with France would be the perfect opportunity for another piece of silverware, while he’ll undoubtedly want a crack at the World Cup in Australia next year.
Three tournaments with Wales saw Wales go deep into the competition, coming within touching distance of the final in 2011 and 2019.
And then, as hosts in 2023, France’s exit to eventual champions South Africa hit Edwards hard. Despite being tee-total, he supposedly had a post-match beer to console himself after that particular defeat.
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But, after that, where Edwards could end up is anyone’s guess.
“One thing I have learned over the years is you have to be asked if you are going to go to a club or a union,” Edwards told BBC Radio 5 Live after France were crowned champions.
“They have to telephone you and ask you. After the next World Cup, we will see what happens.”
Having left his role with Wales back in 2019, supporters have long expressed their dismay that Edwards was ever allowed to walk away.
Edwards is acutely aware of that love from Welsh fans. Earlier in the tournament, the one thing he stressed was how thankful he was to them for all their support.
At times, Edwards has admitted coaching in the Wales would be something that interested him. However, that doesn’t seem likely to happen soon.
Wales’ defence does seem to be turning a corner with Steve Tandy, with Peter Murchie joining him in the summer.
Then there’s the England job. It has long seemed the obvious one for Edwards.
Along with fellow rugby league convert Andy Farrell, there’s a sense that England’s two finest coaches are lost to their national team.
At least Farrell had a spell with England, assisting Stuart Lancaster – only for Edwards to play his part in knocking the hosts out of their own World Cup in 2015.
However, the timing has never seemed right.
He turned down a role with them in 2006 following a family tragedy, before the “insulting” offer to coach the Saxons in 2008.
There was then talk in 2021, but it didn’t materialise into anything.
Even with all the defensive nous in England’s coaching staff now – indeed their whole game is built around it – Edwards would surely be an improvement.
Even beyond his Six Nations record, his CV speaks for itself.
At club level as defence coach at Wasps, they won the Premiership three times in succession – in 2003, 2004 and 2005 – and the Heineken Cup in 2004.
During his reign as head coach, Wasps won the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2006, and the Heineken Cup again in 2007.
Maybe England will finally make the right decision when it comes to the Wigan native. The British and Irish Lions, having not coached them since 2009, remains an itch to scratch too.
But this weekend showed maybe there’s another competition in the former Great Britain rugby league captain’s mind.
“I have an ambition to win a Rugby Championship, to be honest,” he told the BBC. “I would love to be involved with the All Blacks or Springboks or Argentina maybe.
“Most of the World Cup winners have come from the southern hemisphere, and I would love to be able to pit myself against the top teams like that.”
After two decades as the Six Nations’ great winner, the southern hemisphere makes sense as Edwards’ next challenge.
It’s a terrifying thought for the rest of rugby, though.
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