Born and raised in Wigan, England, Shaun Edward’s rugby talents evidently ran in his family’s blood with both his father and uncle having played professionally. It was only natural when Shaun Edwards took up the sport and soon became England schoolboy captain in both the rugby union and rugby league, he was the first to achieve this feat and as a result attracted a wealth of attention from several clubs. He took his first step into rugby stardom when he signed with Wigan in 1983. Edwards made his impressive debut as scrum-half only 20 days after. He followed this up as fullback in the final of the 1984 Challenge Cup.
It was in 1985 that Shaun Edward’s career began to pick up even more momentum. He played in the 1985 Challenge Cup final as fullback and scored a try, subsequently helping the team achieve victory. The same year Edwards became the youngest ever player to play for Great Britain when he was brought on in a match against France. On a Great Britain Lions tour he taped over the British Coal logo on his jersey to show his support for the miners. Building up his reputation playing in a number of tours and cups, Shaun Edwards dedication on the field shone through when he was awarded the Man of Steel Award for playing most of the 1990 Challenge Cup final with a broken eye socket and cheekbone. At the end of the 1991-92 season he was credited with being the league’s top try scorer, leading him to be selected for the 1992 Great British Lions Tour of Australia and New Zealand. He ultimately played in every round of Wigan’s consecutive wins of the Challenge Cup, making 452 appearances for the team overall. After leaving the club and having stints at both the London Broncos and Bradford Bulls, Shaun Edwards eventually retired in 2000.
Since retirement Shaun Edwards went on to become head coach for the rugby union team London Wasps, in 2008 he was appointed defence coach for Wales while also becoming defence coach for the British and Irish Lions in 2009. Since 2020, Shaun has been the defence coach for the French national rugby team, whose recent successes have been attributed to the impact of having Shaun as their coach.
