Shaun Edwards to be Wigan coach from 2020
Wigan have announced that Shaun Edwards will return to the club as Head Coach for the 2020 season, with Adrian Lam fulfilling the role in 2019.
Edwards, 51, will rejoin his boyhood club when his commitments with the Wales rugby union side end after the 2019 Rugby World Cup on a three-year deal.
Prior to his arrival, former half-back Adrian Lam will replace outgoing head coach Shaun Wane for the 2019 season.
Warriors chairman Ian Lenegan said: “Shaun Edwards is a legendary figure in both codes of rugby as a supremely gifted player and as a highly successful Coach.
“He is an inspirational figure, a born leader and a winner at everything he has turned his attention to. He also has Wigan Rugby League Club in his blood. We’re delighted to have been able to bring Shaun back to the Club which he represented with such distinction.
“Shaun will undoubtedly inject some fresh ideas and impetus into the game, drawing on his extensive experience in rugby union, and we’re proud to have made such a progressive appointment. We’re looking forward to how he builds on the very strong foundations that we have in place at Wigan.
“Wigan enjoys a global standing within our sport and beyond and, having Shaun at the helm is a shot in arm for the Club and also for the sport of Rugby League and the Super League competition.”
“We’re extremely fortunate to have a man of Adrian’s calibre to come into the Head Coach role on an interim basis for the 2019 season. Adrian won the hearts and minds of every Wigan fan during his time here as a player and he’s coming to Wigan us as one of Australia’s brightest and most respected coaches having coached the Papua New Guinea national team and with the Sydney Roosters. He’s a great addition – one that myself, Kris Radlinski and Shaun Edwards are extremely enthused about.
“We all feel Adrian will have significant impact on the Wigan team before returning to Australia with the additional experience to be capable of taking up a Head Coach role there.”
Edwards made more than 500 appearances in a distinguished playing career, the majority of which for Wigan.
He also played for Balmain Tigers, London Broncos and Bradford, as well as representing Great Britain on 36 occasions.
The most decorated player in rugby league history, Edwards won eight Championships and nine Challenge Cups, and was Man of Steel in 1990.
Lam, 47, ended his playing career at Wigan, playing for the Warriors between 2001 and 2004.
He scored 192 points in 119 appearances, having previously played in the NRL with Sydney Roosters.