Edwards to stay with Wales as defence coach

Shaun Edwards has slipped through England's rugby union net for the second time after the former rugby league international agreed to sign a new coaching contract with Wales, the Welsh Rugby Union said on Sunday.Edwards became a free agent last week when he parted company with Wasps, where he had coached for 10 years, a month after his part-time contract with Wales expired at the end of the World Cup.With England's coaching set-up possibly in line for a shake-up in the wake of their poor World Cup showing, Edwards, a master defensive tactician, was a considered by pundits to be very much in the running to join the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in some capacity.    However, the 45-year-old has instead signed a new contact with Wales, described by local media as a four-year deal.    "I kept in touch with him daily and concluded matters positively on Saturday," WRU chief Roger Lewis told the BBC."I'm delighted for Welsh rugby, I'm delighted for the team of coaches we've got and I'm delighted for Shaun."He has proved himself as a coach at the very highest level and we know what huge respect and affection he is held in, not only by the players but also by the Welsh rugby public."Our whole focus must be building on that and looking to the future. That is why the appointment is so important."Edwards, one of the most successful players in the history of rugby league, is likely to again combine his Welsh role with a club position and Lewis said the coach was currently in discussions with a team in the English Premiership.Four years ago he was approached by the RFU but was offered a role working with the second-string Saxons team at a salary he described as derisory and instead went on to become Warren Gatland's assistant at Wales.He helped them to a Six Nations grand slam in 2009 and played an important role in their run to the World Cup semi-finals.Those achievements added more lustre to a CV that already included helping Wasps to two Heineken Cups and four English Premiership titles and working with the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa in 2009.