Six Nations: England attack coach Martin Gleeson out to thwart fellow ex-RL man Shaun Edwards defense | Rugby Union News

The England Rugby Union rivalry with France is one that extends over 22 miles of sea and 116 years of history, but the final chapter in Paris on Saturday night could rest on the off-field clash between two former Wigan rugby league players.

On the English side, Martin Gleeson, the coach appointed to shape the national team’s attack last August as part of the restart of head coach Eddie Jones, against the man who, by the 15-a-side code, is the greatest defensive guru to Shaun Edwards is considered.

There were talks with his fellow Wiganer during his time on the staff at Betfred Super League side Salford Red Devils that first exceeded Gleeson’s interest in the codes, which he did before the 2019/20 season by appearing on Wasps has moved.

The 41-year-old was quickly regarded as one of the brightest offensive ghosts in the Gallagher Premiership, which led him to join the England setup after Simon Amor’s departure, but now stands his toughest test to date with a Question that has flummoxed opposition coaches for over two decades: How do you block an Edwards defense?

“He kind of transformed them, didn’t he?” Gleeson talked about the work Edwards did with a French team on the sidelines to win a first Six Nations title in 12 years.

“It’s the simplicity in his message that when he gets the purchase from the boys, the boys respect him, and they go for him in the trenches. I think that’s his appeal as a coach and it does not matter where he is. goes, he seems to be successful, so I have nothing but the greatest respect from him.

“It’s very notoriously difficult to break his defense, but we have a few things in place that we’re looking to put out. Try to do that on Saturday.”

Coincidentally, it was the Wasps who offered Edwards his way into coaching at the Rugby Union, after winning everything to win as a player in the 13-man code as a half-time player in the star-studded Wigan team, all ahead of them struck for much of the 1980s and 1990s.

That came in 2001, just six years after the union shrugged off the shoulders of amateurism and opened up with clubs that like to profit from the professional thoughts of their league counterparts.

Wasps, Wales and the British and Irish Lions have all benefited from Edwards’ input over the last 20 years, but he has helped transform assets on the other side of the English Chanel for the past two years as one of Fabien Gathie’s trusted lieutenants. .

Only Ireland – coached by another Wigan rugby league superb Andy Farrell – have conceded fewer points or attempts than France in the Six Nations this year and Edwards believes the hard-fought manner of last Friday’s 13-9 win over Wales in Cardiff shows how far Les Bleus have come.

“We’ve been through a bit of pain and hopefully now we’ll get it right against a very formidable England team,” said Edwards. The i this week.

“We are now a little more tactically aware, as we showed in Cardiff, in a game where the weather was not great, and so on, we were disciplined in our approach.

“Everyone knows we have the glare, but I think we add the structure and play at the right time.”

But while Edwards and the likes of England defense coach Anthony Seibold have come to focus on the outside of the game, Gleeson – a Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup winning center as a player with St Helens – is one of a new wave, looking for what they can add to the attack.

Results, so far, in England the so-called new era have been mixed; an unbeaten Autumn Nations Series campaign with victories over Tonga, Australia and Rugby World Cup holder South Africa was followed by a stubborn Six Nations in which the best they can do now is come third and in which only the bottom two of Wales and Italy have less Attempt shot.

The focus, however, remains on next year’s World Cup in France, and although Gleeson admits that progress may not have been as rapid as he would like, he is pleased with how the new players, who get their first experience of Six Nations rugby, are doing adapt.

“You always want it to evolve a little faster, but things take time,” Gleeson said. “We have a lot of young players bloody, especially players in the spine with not many heads between them.

“This experience of the Six Nations will do them real good, there will be confidence in the game on Saturday night and hopefully we can show you what we are then.

“We have to do what we can. There are times when we have to roll up our sleeves, but when there is room somewhere, we take it.”

The decision to bring George Furbank as a backlash and Freddie Steward on the wing to bring the conflict with France gives a glimpse of the attacking game plan Gleeson helped formulate, and he was particularly excited about the past, the threat , the decision. and kicking skills that used to bring the number 15 shirt.

The limited time spent with players on an international side compared to the day-to-day-out work on the training ground at the club level meant that Gleeson also had to adapt his approach, but whatever the outcome in Paris on Saturday, Six Nations is an experience he enjoyed being a part of.

“You can not do everything in the time period you have with the players, you have to build parts of the game slowly together, so it’s just figuring out what’s the biggest thing we need at certain times and putting things on layers.” , said Gleeson.

“It was new. I think the competition is incredibly fierce and tight, and the fanfare generated around each game is nothing like I’ve experienced before.

“It was a big step up from the fall, but it was enjoyable. The boys were all great and it was a really good experience – I enjoyed it.”