Edwards leaves Wasps to seek 'new challenges', perhaps with England

Wasps today confirmed that long-serving head coach Shaun Edwards has left the club paving the way for a potential role with England.

Edwards, 45, had been part of the coaching set-up at Wasps for a decade but departs after discussions with the club after the conclusion of the World Cup, where he served as Wales’ defence coach.

In a joint statement released with the club, Edwards said of his departure: “I would like to thank the supporters, sponsors, fellow coaches and owners of London Wasps but most of all the many great players who I have had the privilege to coach in my 10 years at the club.

“I will always have fond memories of my time with Wasps and feel ready and excited for some new challenges ahead of me. The experiences of the recent British and Irish Lions tour and the recent World Cup have given me more knowledge than I have ever had.”

Edwards’ future at the club had been in doubt after he recently revealed that he expected to return from the World Cup, where he helped Wales to a fourth-place finish, as a “free agent”.

The former rugby league star became head coach of Wasps in 2002 and guided them to four Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups.

The Rugby Football Union, who are set to discuss the future of team manager Martin Johnson at Twickenham today after a disappointing World Cup campaign, could move to secure the services of Edwards, either as part of a new coaching team led by Johnson or as Johnson’s successor.

Edwards worked on a part-time basis for Wales from the beginning of 2008, with Wasps allowing him to be available to link up with Warren Gatland’s side for Test matches, but his contract with the Welsh Rugby Union expired following Wales’ defeat to Australia in their third-place play-off at the World Cup.

Wasps’ director of rugby Dai Young wants the club to move forward quickly.

He said: “At the end of the day sometimes you have got to move on and you have to do things that are under your control – we have got to move on accordingly.”

Young also believes that combining club and country roles in the modern era can prove difficult.

“I think you can (combine jobs) with a number of roles but not the head coach position, but that is not my decision,” he said.

“Whether that has worked or not in the last three or four years is not for me to say. In my view the head coach has a massive input into the structure and the way a team plays the game and that’s difficult if you’re not here.”

Director Lawrence Dallaglio also paid tribute to Edwards’ achievements during his time at Adams Park.

“Shaun is rightly held in great esteem and high affection by everyone associated with the club and he is leaving a massive legacy here,” he said.

“We have no doubt that Shaun’s reputation, greatly enhanced by his work with Wales at the recent World Cup, will present him with many opportunities at the top level of the sport and he departs from Wasps with the best wishes from everyone at the club.”

In a busy day for the London club it was also announced that England international Simon Shaw will soon leave the club, despite only penning a new contract three months ago.

An earlier statement read: “Simon Shaw signed a contract extension with London Wasps in August, before leaving for the Rugby World Cup with England. Simon requested that the club did not announce this at the time for personal reasons, which the club was happy to comply with.

“Upon his return, he informed the club last week that he would like to finish his career overseas. The club are very disappointed with this news and await an official approach for the player.”

Shaw signed for Wasps in 1997 and the 38-year-old has made over 300 appearances for the club to date but he is expected to depart in the near future.