Well you're 50% right so far...so hat's off to you for that!

Quote ="St. Etrigan"Plus I dont know the whole position but his son is very important to him and moving to the North wouldnt give him anything other than a long distance relationship.'" His son, James Small-Edwards is currently at Edinburgh University RFC and has his own life now. https://rugby.eusu.ed.ac.uk/club/squad

Quote ="St. Etrigan"Plus I dont know the whole position but his son is very important to him and moving to the North wouldnt give him anything other than a long distance relationship.'" His son, James Small-Edwards is currently at Edinburgh University RFC and has his own life now. https://rugby.eusu.ed.ac.uk/club/squad

Not a contradiction at all, I made no suggestion Edwards had already signed; merely that this opportunity has his name written all over it and I firmly expect to see Edwards as Head Coach 2019 with an assistant such as Deacs/Lam/Harris.

Adrian Lam?

I’m in the camp that would love to see Shaun Edwards get the job but I’m not sure theclub could / would pay the kind of money he’d be used to in RU. I suspect he’d have to take a significant drop in wages to get the job.

Apart his time as head coach of Wasps you mean? Where he presided over a Heineken Cup win, a European Challenge Cup win and three Premiership titles. This was from 2005 to 2011. (He was there 10 years in total and before 2005 was a backs coach when I think they won another Premiership and cup in addition to those he won outright as heads coach himself).

If this was planned succession then I think the press release would have been all about that and the fact the parting of the ways was with mutual consent and so on. As it is IL says, and I quote, "I feel certain that his decision to leave will have been a difficult one". So I think it is obvious Wane is the one who called time on his stint here. Wane himself also begins his statement with the word "Regrettably I have decided to announce my resignation....". You don't resign and regret doing so if this was all port of a plan nor as a chairman put out a press release saying your head coach has resigned when there are far more positive ways to present something that was supposedly a planned succession.

I respect Wane's decision either way. If he's got fed up with how IL runs things and has walked away good for him, if he has been offered another challenge then he's not taken the easy way out and stuck at Wigan just because there was a job here for him (which I am convinced there was).

Did you mean successor, or do you think Maguire will be returning?

I'm sure Ian Lenagan has known about this for a while simply because Wigan genuinely don't do 'breaking news'. Usually things are planned well in advance before the club make an official announcement. It wouldn't surprise me if it's been discussed at length for quite a while.

As for who takes over, Shaun Edwards seems to be favourite for a lot of people but having spent so long out of the game it's surely a risk. Common sense would suggest he'd have to come back to the sport in an assistant coach role and learn from someone with experience. The only way I can see it working otherwise is if he's head coach and has someone with plenty of experience alongside him - perhaps someone like Tony Smith.

I don't think there are a huge number of quality coaches knocking around at the moment, so my guess is the club will wait and see who applies for the role rather than already having a replacement in mind.

The club like to promote from within but I don't think John Winder is likely to get the job as it would be the most underwhelming appointment in history and his lack of professional experience would almost certainly count against him.

We're currently one of few clubs who has just one assistant coach and I'd imagine that will change regardless of who gets the job. Some continuity from the previous regime can always be useful so I'd guess that Winder will keep his role as assistant.

I was under the impression that Ian McGeechan took over from Warren Gatland as the coach in charge of Wasps (in RU speak Director of Rugby) in 2005 and was still in charge when Shaun Edwards left in 2011, Shauns title was Head Coach, but unlike RL the head coach is part of the coaching team where as the Director of Rugby is in charge. Confusing I know.

Wigan under IL like to[i manage[/i the news. This looks anything but managed and it takes both parties in this sort of decision to agree to the spin. Doesn't look like Wane is towing the party line on this one.



They need to start inviting applications now. Depending who applies they may need to go poaching and best not to leave that to the last minute.

I would like to think he’d be aware of the wages drop especially since his remarks in the media a few weeks ago.

I would have Edwards but we need a good support network behind him. In the mould of a Deacon/Harris when Wane was first appointed.

Love Rugby League had him as a candidate. I thought the Kiwi job would make it a no go but it’s apparently part time and he’d be available for a club job.

Part of me thinks I’d love for it to happen but I’m not sure he’s the man to keep on bringing the kids through. In fairness to him he did give the likes of Farrell and Charnley their debuts IIRC so maybe he could be.

A pipe dream I suppose.

Didn't he also spend a season down under with Bennett

He was lead coach at Wasps.

I'm going for Giz with Tony Rea as his assistant.

Got told before the season started that Wigan were looking at Dave Furner or Trent Barrett to be coach in 2019.

Stacey Jones & Willie Peters

Paul Koloi & Doc Murray

Why we’re at it, Gael Talec & Andre Stoop!

Shen Tatupu and Tim Jonkers. Dream combination.

Longy and Cunningham.

Ronnie Braithwaite and Wayne Elvin

Ian Millward

Maurice Bamford is the front runner