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Does anyone really know what to expect from Shaun Edwards' appointment?
By Josh Raisey
Following months of speculation, Shaun Edwards has been officially named the new defence coach of France after he parted ways with Wales following twelve years alongside Warren Gatland.
He joins Fabien Galthie’s extensive team, as they seek to rebuild French rugby after Jacques Brunel’s reign and a number of years in the doldrums.
This appointment has evoked quite a reaction from the world of rugby, as it is such a huge difference in cultures.
That is why some believe Edwards can be the catalyst to turn this undoubtedly talented French team into world champions in 2023, and even Six Nations winners in 2020, and some also think this may not be too successful.
Since his time at Wasps and Wales with Gatland, Edwards has been a merciless taskmaster and has built a Wales team famed for their defence and fitness. In fact, they won the Grand Slam this year purely on the back of their defence, as they scored the fewest tries in the championship.
This was always Edwards’ approach since his days in rugby league with Wigan, England and Britain. He expects his players to buy into this mentality, which he has inculcated into the Wales team over the years, particularly in the famed training camps that they were made to endure.
The problem that Edwards faces is the fact that his ethos seems to be the diametric opposite of French rugby’s over the past decade. This is a team that are notoriously capricious, who revolted against their coach Marc Lievremont in 2011, and supposedly did the very same thing with Brunel at this recent RWC.
To make matters worse, a lack of fitness has been endemic across French rugby over the past few years, from the national team to the clubs.
This is the bedrock in which Edwards’ defence is built upon and may require some monumental changes to the approach of the players. It is this clash of cultures which will be the hardest hurdle to overcome for four-time Grand Slam winning coach.
After winning the past two World Rugby Under-20 Championships, France arguably have the most promising team in international rugby and the world got a glimpse of their emerging stars at the RWC.
If Edwards can click with this team, it is understandable why so many think they could become a force once again.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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