The France defence coach signed off his interview in the perfect way after his side won the Six Nations
Shaun Edwards left pundits laughing after delivering a cheeky reminder of his remarkable Six Nations record following France’s astonishing title-winning victory over England.
France edged a breathtaking contest 48-46 to seal the championship, capping another triumph for the legendary former Wales defence coach.
The win marked Edwards’ seventh Six Nations title — four with Wales and now three with France — but the statistic initially went unmentioned during his post-match interview with Topsy Ojo.
Instead, Edwards found himself fielding questions about France’s defence after a chaotic finale to the tournament in which Les Bleus conceded 96 points across their final two games, including 50 against Scotland and 46 against England.
Despite that, Edwards took the discussion in good spirits.
“Another crazy, great game for the fans — those at home and at the stadium,” he said.
“Rugby at the moment, particularly the Six Nations, is just phenomenal.”
The veteran coach also defended the broader trend of high-scoring matches in the modern game.
“If it was just your team defending and conceding so many points, you’d be worried,” he said.
“England have an excellent defence coach and defensive system and they’ve conceded more than us!
“Obviously it’s a bit frustrating at times, but that’s the way the game is going.
“Scores all around the world — Super Rugby, New Zealand taking 39 points off Australia last summer — it’s a regular occurrence nowadays.”
Edwards also highlighted the development of a young French squad he believes still has plenty of improvement to come.
“It’s a group we are building. We feel they can improve in the future,” he said.
“We had a couple of young players — like Oscar Jegou — who has been phenomenal in this tournament. He’s a guy 100 per cent for the future.”
But it was Edwards’ final comment that stole the show.
As the interview wrapped up and he prepared to step away, the former Wales coach turned back with a grin and delivered one final line.
“Thank you — that’s my seventh one, that, by the way!”
The cameras then quickly panned back to the pitchside pundits, who had erupted in laughter.
Dan Biggar said to Mark Pougatch: “What did I say to you off-air? I said that was his seventh!”
Edwards is rightly revered as one of the greatest defensive minds in the game and his seven Six Nations titles is testament to that.
