Responsible for the defense of the Blues who challenge the Blacks on Saturday evening (9:10 p.m. at the Stade de France), Shaun Edwards (57 years old) has lived in Roussillon since 2020. The one who has one of the most beautiful records at XIII “does not see himself not grow old anywhere other than in Canet”, his “little paradise”, where he enjoys a peaceful existence alongside Maggie and his two daughters.
On this October day, the Tramontana sweeps the Catalan coast. “That's for sure, in Wigan we don't have any wind. But it's gray. Here, it's sunny all year round”smiles Shaun Edwards, 57, looking out the bay window of his pretty villa in Canet. Established in Roussillon since 2020, on the advice of his friend Richard Hunwicks, then physical trainer at the Catalan Dragons, now back in Leeds, the Lancashire native has found his little corner of paradise. “In any case we are very happy there and I don’t see myself growing old anywhere other than here”.
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So think, 200 meters away, the beach where he likes to walk. And on the sidewalk opposite, the school of his two daughters, Kitty (6 years old) and Edie (9 years old). A little further, his hangout, the O'Can Memain bar, where he shares a few mousses, “Estrella Damm because they are gluten-free”with friends. And then there is Collioure. His favorite where he regularly burns candles at the Notre Dame-des-Anges church. “For my daughters, my family”.
Fitness room in the garage
“It's very simple, every time I come back from a tour, a training course or a tour with the XV of France, I go to eat at the Miramar in Canet, I sit down and I tell myself that I “I'm lucky. Except for a few trips to England to visit my father Jackie (86 years old) in his retirement home, I spend three quarters of the year in Canet, it's so calm and the people are positive.”. Not like the English? “I refuse to compare the two cultures like the 13th and the 15th”he warned in a firm tone. “The region is ideal for my job. In winter, I have the XV with the USAP and in the summer, I have the XIII with the Dragons. The Top 14 is work, defense is Super League, fun and attack I don't have to concentrate on the defensive role of the teams.”.
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From the stairs comes Maggie, her companion in the middle of preparing the Rose Canétoise, where she counts “take 50 minutes”before swimming in a Mediterranean at 19 degrees. “I'll go and support it with the girls. As for me, that's all over. My knees no longer allow me to run. Just think, since the age of twelve, I've been playing rugby a lot. was scheduled to become a professional, so I'm talking to myself..
The region is ideal. In winter I have the XV with the USAP and in the summer, the XIII, with the Dragons.
Every morning, when the sun rubs your eyes, “In the garage, I set up a small weight room”. On the kitchen table, a huge diary. Each page has its match: Toulouse-Bègles, USAP-Clermont with Posolo Tuilagi's injury, circled in ink…”I watch 75% of the Top 14 matches. And the remaining 25%, I watch the highlights. I spend my weekends on Canal + I focus of course on the defensive aspect, but also on the attitudes, the hunting of two or three players that I target. It's all in the details you know”explains the one who believes that Gaël Fickou, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Antoine Dupont or Thibaud Flament, “would make very good thirteen players”continues the man who has one of the finest records at XIII with 37 trophies (17 as a coach), including 8 championships and 8 Cups in particular. And more than 300 tries, especially with Wigan (1983-1997).
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“As I played in the middle, I mainly controlled the offensive aspect, as you can imagine. And when I became a coach, I focused exclusively on the defensive aspect”. It clicked, an Australia-England match in Brisbane in 1992. “That day, my stat line showed 36 tackles. It was far too many to have preserved energy and lucidity for the offensive phases. This is where I developed my theory that the hinge must do a minimum of defensive work. This is what I advocate with Antoine (Dupont) and Romain (Ntamack).. Winning precepts against Japan last weekend (52-12 victory for the French XV). And against the Blacks this Saturday?
