Shaun Edwards opts for Wales contract extension after giving up on England coaching dream

Shaun Edwards signed a new four-year contract extension with Wales after giving up on England dream

SHAUN EDWARDS signed a four-year contract extension with Wales yesterday after giving up on his dream of coaching England.

 

Warren Gatland's highly-rated lieutenant had stalled on a new WRU deal in case Eddie Jones came knocking, but with no contact from England's new head coach, the Wiganer has nailed his colours to the Wales mast.

Edwards has been an integral part of the management team which has delivered three Six Nations titles since he came on board in 2008. His signature is a significant boost for Wales whose World Cup coaching staff have been retained en bloc for the Six Nations.

"I'm delighted to have signed a new contract with the Welsh Rugby Union and to continue to be part of an environment I really enjoy working in," said Edwards.

 

Edwards remains an integral part of Warren Gatland's backroom staff

"As a coach it is fantastic to work alongside such a dedicated and talented group of players and to be part of a strong management team.

"Warren has assembled a great team off the field and it's a great environment. I get to work alongside some of the best coaches and management in the world and alongside some of my best friends in the game.

"For me it is great to have signed through until 2019, but as I always have done, my focus is always on the next match and the next competition, which for us is the Six Nations."

With the championship less than two months away, England need to move quickly to finalise their own coaching team. The RFU have got nowhere yet with Bristol over the release of Jones' primary target, Steve Borthwick, and although they remain confident of landing their man in the end the last thing England need is to be left scrabbling about for staff in the New Year.

Jones, who took over officially as head coach on December 1, met with assistants Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt earlier this week and is expected to inform them whether they will have any role to play in the new set-up before next week.

 

The temptation must be for Jones to start from a clean sheet of paper although the short time-frame to bring in replacements does offer the trio a ray of hope.

Workaholic though he is, Jones cannot do it all on his own. A temporary reappointment though for the coaches who served under Stuart Lancaster for the duration of the championship would carry with it the uneasy feeling of being on trial.

Andy Farrell, the most influential member of Lancaster's staff, remains the one member of the trio who could conceivably survive long term. The absence of a move for Edwards or Saracens defence coach Paul Gustard - so far - would appear to play in his favour.

However even though the RFU's review into England's World Cup failure is understood to have cleared Farrell of holding undue influence over the selection process - and specifically the fast-tracking of Sam Burgess - he did not escape unscathed in feedback from squad members.

Jones has read the review and will very shortly come to his own conclusions.