Defence coach Edwards negotiating France exit

Shaun Edwards' departure from France's national team is being negotiated, with the fabled defence coach set to be without a role a year out from the Rugby World Cup.

The 59-year-old's exit is complicated by the 18 months remaining on his contract and France's desire to protect confidentiality around tactics.

France have won the Six Nations three times during Edwards' stint, but they conceded more tries than any other team apart from bottom side Wales en route to the 2026 title.

Edwards has been absent from France's training camps since the tournament, while relations between the Wigan and Great Britain rugby league legend and head coach Fabien Galthie have been strained in the past.

Edwards, who spent a successful 12 years with Wales and won four English titles and two Champions Cups while on Wasps' staff, said in March that he was interested in coaching in the Rugby Championship, the southern hemisphere tournament contested by South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.

With a little more than a year to go before Australia 2027, that possibility will have raised concerns in the FFR (French Rugby Federation).

Following France's quarter-final exit on home soil at the last Rugby World Cup, it emerged that South Africa's coaches had decoded one of their tactical calls, external before a 29-28 win.

Unions can be fiercely protective of the 'intellectual property' around their flagship teams.

England initially held defence coach Felix Jones, who had picked up on the French forwards' pick-and-go call via YouTube footage while working on the 'Boks' World Cup campaign, to a 12-month notice period after he resigned in August 2024.

Non-compete clauses, preventing coaches taking on a job with a rival team for a set amount of time, are also common.