Shaun Edwards
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Shaun Edwards OBE is an former English rugby league player and now head coach at London Wasps rugby union team.. He played at scrum half for Wigan.
Shaun spent fifteen years at Central Park and was a modern day legend. His father Jack had been a great half-back for Warrington in the late fifties and early sixties.
He was a former England schoolboy captain at both rugby league and rugby union, and had been hunted by several clubs. Shaun signed for Wigan in a blaze of media coverage on his seventeenth birthday, a fee of £35,000 was reportedly paid to Shaun which caused a few raised eyebrows in the game on both sides of the world.
He made his debut for the club at stand-off in the 30-13 home win against York on 6th November 1983, 20 days after signing for Wigan. He is the joint holder of the Wigan record for tries in a game in the 78-0 rout of Swinton in the Lancashire Cup 2nd round in September 1992.
It was a County Cup record and record for a non-winger in any game. In addition he scored four tries in a game on four occasions and hat-tricks seven times. He was the leading try scorer in the 91/92 season with a total of 40.
He played for Great Britain on 32 occasions with a further 4 from the substitute's bench scoring 16 tries for his country.
Shaun played his last game for Wigan against St Helens in the Challenge Cup defeat at Knowsley Road in 1997. Shaun played in every one of Wigan's eight consecutive Challenge cup wins and won every honour in the game, making 452 appearances for Wigan.
He left to join the London Broncos after a fall out with coach Eric Hughes. Edwards had wanted to spend some time with his expectant girlfriend but was refused permission by Hughes. When he returned to Wigan with the Broncos in May 1997, Shaun got on the score sheet and was warmly applauded by the Wigan crowd to which he gave his customary nod of approval. After just a season in London, Shaun moved to Bradford Bulls but was soon on his way back to London where he represented the Broncos in the 1999 Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
Shaun joined London Wasps rugby union team, in 2001 where he was backs coach before becoming head coach in 2005 after Warren Gatland left. He was instrumental in helping win the English Rugby Union Championship 3 times in succession, 2003, 2004 & 2005 and the Heineken Cup in 2004. He is also in charge of the London Wasps academy side who play in the Guinness Premiership A League.
