Edwards has been steeped in rugby of either code, (wasn't he a mover and shaker in Yawnion as a kid) since he was watching Pipkins . Does anybody REALLY think this fella has turned off every game of RL since his defection, nearly 20 years ago.

The fella's been in professional sport, plying his trade in front of 70,000 people, regularly. I think he's savvy enough to "win the floor/armwrestle/collision" or any other cliché Jon Wells can come up with, as a coach.

Am I jealous of Wigan? OK, just a smidgeon.

On the game of RL as a whole, this is FANTASTIC news that he has returned.

Go outside your traditional RL heartlands, could anyone tell you a name connected with our game, if you stopped someone in the street? No. Not one. Well maybe your hormonal 50+ year old auntie from Tunbridge Wells, who once saw Ashton Sims on A Question of Sport, and thought "I wonder if he'd fancy me, at my age".

He'll raise the profile. It needs raising.

Spot on - I was scrolling down through this thread and about to post exactly the same thing. I follow both codes and for RL to attract back someone of his profile is a rare bit of great news for the sport.

The reason he joined Saints was due to the difference in enthusiasm of the coaches of each club, I’m lead to believe.

Indeed, it is great news for the sport. We need names to push the spirt forward and he is one.

I don’t mind Union, the game on the pitch (I hate Union the sport, if that makes sense?), but I always dislike our big names going over there and ditching us like they never have a .

We need to do more to keep hold of our players and coaches in rugby league.

Lefty quotes
"Does anybody REALLY think this fella has turned off every game of RL since his defection, nearly 20 years ago".

Limited relevance as watching is not the same as being actively involved. However, he e is certainly a driven guy who will demand commitment and effort. At the time he moved into coaching I was not sure if it would work as he set such high standards for himself and I wondered if he would get frustrated with others not showing the same levels of dedication. He has certainly achieved success so who knows

I do agree that it has raised media attention which can only be a good thing and he is now a rugby league person a number of RU people and London journalists will have heard of.

Edwards is not some dinosaur from the 1980s, he was an obsessive student of the game as a player, and as a coach in union he has been regarded as an innovator who brought new things in to defence coaching and I bet he has been studying league all through his time as a union coach to see what he can bring over. It wouldn't be that unusual, Stuart Lancaster studied the NRL when he was England RU coach.

I bet even now, Edwards could give anyone a great analysis of the way the game has developed both in SL and the NRL, and by the time he takes over in 2020, he will know the game inside out.

Edwards is going to get Wigan winning trophies again, no doubt about that.

When did they stop?

SL Title 2016, WCC 2017?

With a bit of luck 2017

Great to see him back in the sport.

Can foresee a couple of years at Wigan before he takes a top NRL job, following their exodus of players Down Under.

Odd that Someone like Tony Smith became so out of touch with the Game then while still working in it.

Maybe while he's working for the FA he'll become a student of Rugby League again and in twenty years time he can take another club back to the top.....