Shaun Edwards, the defense coach of the Wales Rugby Team is set to take over at Aviva Premiership side the London Irish as their head coach after the Grand Slam winners return from their tour of Australia at the end of June.
The news of Edwards taking over at the helm of The Exiles comes in the wake of the departures of Justin Bishop, Toby Booth and Neal Hatley from the club. Edwards will continue to serve in his capacity as the defense coach of the Welsh team but under the clause of his contract, he will be allowed to spend a day a week with the Irish.
Edwards was one of the most key members of the coaching team at the Irish’s rivals in the Aviva Premiership, the London Wasps when they won the Aviva Premiership in 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as the Heineken Cup in 2004 and again in 2007. Although the fans of the London Irish have not taken the decision to appoint someone who was a key component in the success of one of their arch rivals to the coaching team but the board at The Exiles was unanimous in his favor.
Edwards joined the coaching setup at the Welsh national team after the appointment of Warren Gatland as the head coach and has since then, helped The Dragons achieve success at the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2008 and again in 2012.
Shaun Edwards was himself very excited when asked about the prospect of joining the London Irish, stating that the opportunity to join up with another Aviva Premiership side was not one that could have been overlooked and added that the decision was simple enough for him and when the approach came, he made no hesitation about coming on board with The Exiles.