Vickery happy with Edwards switch
Phil Vickery revealed England’s eight-strong Wasps contingent all gave Shaun Edwards their blessing to join the Wales coaching staff.
However, they are now determined to make sure his international career opens with a defeat.
Edwards, the Wasps head coach, has signed a two-year deal to join Warren Gatland’s management team on a part-time basis – and his first appointment is against England at Twickenham on February 2.
Vickery admitted it would be odd to see Edwards in the opposite camp but said: “He has spoken very openly and honestly with us at Wasps about the opportunity and asked if we had any issues.
“To a man none of us did. I have no issues with anyone who wants to better themselves in the thing they do. He is a good coach and I have grown very fond of him in the 18 months I have been at Wasps.
“He will bring a lot of enthusiasm to Wales. He is infectious and very passionate about what he does.
“He has a lot of belief in his ability and if there is anyone in the Welsh camp who doesn’t have that belief, they will by next Saturday.
“Shaun is looking forward to the challenges of international rugby. I wish him well – just not next weekend.”
There is a strong Wasps connection in Wales now, with Edwards joining a new-look coaching staff headed by former Wasps boss Warren Gatland and including former scrum-half Rob Howley.
Wales have not won at Twickenham in 20 years – but Vickery warned England must not be caught off-guard by a side now captained by Ryan Jones.
“The dangerous thing for us as an England team is that we haven’t seen Wales play under Warren Gatland so we don’t really know what to expect,” said Vickery, at the launch of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.
England head into the tournament on the back of a World Cup final appearance and expectations in the rugby public are high.
The squad, which includes a raft of exciting talent including Danny Cipriani and Lesley Vainikolo, met up for the first time since the World Cup on Monday and Vickery was excited by what he found.
“Mentally this year is going to be very difficult for everyone because of the World Cup and we will have a lot to prove,” he added.
“But just meeting this week, the excitement surrounding the team is fantastic and as captain I want the team to be excited about going out and playing.”
