Shaun Edwards joins Red Roses as defence coach, inspired by late mother

Shaun Edwards has joined England's Red Roses as defence coach during the WXV Global Series, signing a short-term deal to work with the world champions for the remainder of their autumn campaign, the move reported on 23 September 2026. England back row Marlie Packer said part of Edwards' motivation for joining the squad was a personal story about his late mother, Phyllis Edwards.

Packer described how Edwards had spoken to the group about his mother's relationship with the sport. "He told us a little story, telling us why he wanted to be here," she said. "He was saying about his mum not ever being able to have the opportunity to play, and that she would have loved to have done so. "It was really cool to hear that she thought we were amazing." The article notes Phyllis Edwards worked as a hairdresser in Wigan, acted as a trusted adviser to her son, and died in March 2021.

The piece records that Phyllis also cared for Edwards' father, Jackie, after his playing career with Warrington was ended by a spinal injury at the age of 24. Edwards has previously spoken about her influence: "Back in the mid-1990s she was the first person to tell me to study rugby union as well as rugby league, because I always wanted to be a coach and I always took notes of what coaches said," said Edwards at the time. "When rugby union went professional in 1995, I was at the top of the league game, captain of Wigan who were world champions, but she always told me to learn about rugby union."

Edwards' coaching record cited in the article includes domestic and European titles with Wasps and seven Six Nations crowns earned across roles with Wales and France. Packer pointed to his experience when discussing the appointment, saying: "He's got more Six Nations than quite a few of the girls, to be fair to him!" Packer herself has been part of 10 Grand Slam-winning sides since making her England debut in 2008.

Packer, who won her 118th cap in England's draw with Canada, also commented on Edwards' style and what he brings to the programme. "He's straight talking. He doesn't say too much, but when he does say something, you hear it," she said, adding that his presence was "amazing for the whole programme."

The article reports England's 39-match winning run ended last weekend when Canada held them to a 26-26 draw at Sandy Park. "We're not happy with the draw, but we didn't lose a match," Packer said. "It was a really great game of rugby. If you're a neutral that's the kind of rugby that you want to come and watch - you don't know who's going to win, end-to-end scoring, and such a physical, physical game. "We know we have to build from last week. We're in a Test series against Canada; that's our first game, now we've got two away legs. We know what we have got to put right."

The WXV Global Series is described in the article as a new event designed to increase the number and competitiveness of autumn Test matches for the top women's teams, and recent rounds produced several close contests: France recovered from 19 points down to beat Australia 29-26; the United States overturned a 17-point deficit to beat Ireland 40-36 in Dublin; and Australia had led England 10-5 at half in Salford before losing 48-15. On the growth of the women's game Packer added: "The Red Roses are always pushing that bar higher, then it's for the other teams to raise their game, that's exactly what's happening and that's what we want as players," and "The more the game goes professional, the more the unions put money into their women's sides, we're going to see better contests of rugby. "We're going to see that the Red Roses have it won in the first half. There will have to be 80-minute performances. "We don't want to turn up and have to have targets within games because we know we're going to win. We want to be in a rugby contest."

England's next confirmed fixture is against New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, 26 September, kick-off 15:00 BST, with coverage live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app and accompanying live text commentary.