Edwards has fighting Irish spirit in his blood

SHAUN Edwards is up for a Triple Crown scrap in Dublin — after revealing he’s related to an Irish bare-knuckle boxer.

The Wales assistant coach has Saturday’s Six Nations clash in his blood with ancestors on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Edwards takes the family name of his Welsh great-grandfather but played rugby league for Ireland through his maternal grandmother Kitty Collins.

And it will come as little surprise to learn Edwards gets his fiery character from Kitty’s father who earned a ferocious reputation as a street brawler.

Edwards revealed: “My father told me he was a street fighter in Ireland. It was somewhere on the west coast, but a lot of years ago.”

Now the defence specialist wants his Wales team to show the same fighting spirit at Croke Park against Ireland.

Edwards said: “Blitz defence is more confrontational, aggressive and a bit more high risk but it really pays off when you get it right. It’s harder to coach but I’ve been surprised how fast the lads have picked it up.

“You have to be superbly motivated. Wasps have never had the best defence (this season) but are exceptional on the big occasion. Motivation won’t be an issue for us (Wales) because these boys want this badly.

“Our main goal is not just to win on Saturday, but to win the championship.”

Edwards has helped lift Wales to the Six Nations summit after victories over England, Scotland and Italy.

But the Dragons have only beaten Ireland once in their last eight meetings — and Edwards has never had to plan against skipper Brian O’Driscoll.

He said: “Handling O’Driscoll will be a big challenge that I haven’t had to deal with before. He’s powerful and fast but the one thing you can’t coach is speed of thought.

“O’Driscoll has a great rugby mind and is incredibly quick to anticipate what will happen. That’s the hallmark of a great player.”

Coach Warren Gatland has played down talk of a grudge match with Ireland after they refused to renew his contract as head coach in 2001.

Now Wales and Edwards are reaping the benefit.

Their unbeaten start has put them on the verge of a second Six Nations title in four years — and justified Edwards’ decision to take up the assistant job with Wales rather than wait for an opening with England.

He said: “Ireland probably did me a favour by letting Warren go. He helped me become a better coach and Wasps a better club. The big reason I joined Wales was Warren. I knew it was the tough option but so far, so good. Now I want to learn more and coach the British Lions.”