Matthieu Rondel / Hans Lucas for "Le Monde"
PortraitMulti-title club and selection coach, Shaun Edwards joined the XV of France to strengthen his defense.
"Have you ever been to Manchester?" You do not know what it is. How gray it is! " Shaun Edwards is thirsty for the sun. At the start of this afternoon in January, the Englishman is savoring the rays that radiate Toulouse and its stadium Ernest-Wallon, home of the local rugby club.
New defense coach of the XV of France, poached from the Welsh team where, as assistant (from 2008 to 2019), he brought his game science, the technician joined the staff of Fabien Galthié with the mission of giving back colors in defense of the Blues. And it is in front of his homeland, England, that he will make his baptism of fire, Sunday, February 2, for the opening of the Six Nations Tournament. "I always wanted to come to work in France one day, he assures, club or national team. " Prevented, in the past, from signing in Toulon by a Welsh federation refusing double caps, the one who was a rugby league star in the 1980s and 1990s crossed the Channel after the World Cup in Japan.
A reputation for extreme standards
The presence of Raphaël Ibanez, general manager of the XV of France and former player in the London Wasps, that Shaun Edwards trained in the 2000s, has "Strongly played" in the decision of the English technician, who says he was attracted by "The prospect of a World Cup at home" in 2023, and by the potential of the XV of France. Preceded by a reputation for extreme standards and thrifty in his words, Edwards immediately impresses. But when the ice breaks, man reveals himself to be the opposite of this image. "I'm a funny guy. It’s true that it doesn’t sound like, he laughs. I farted my nose fifteen times. I also broke my orbit in three, and moved my cheekbone the same day. " And he tells how his mother apologized to her friends, discovering the young Shaun, 17 years old, one less incisor and dented everywhere: "Before he didn't look like that. "
The coach, who spends an hour a day learning French, has participated in the club tour set up by Fabien Galthié to spread the word of the new staff. "Oh, he never needed a lot of words to get his message across! ", laughs Raphaël Ibanez. When he arrived at the Wasps, the Landais did not speak English fluently, and he appreciated the succinct efficiency of Edwards. "Even in English, when I train, I only need two or three words, confirms the latter. So it's not too hard for me to say "alignment speed", "against-ruck", "aggression after plating ". "
