Six Nations 2023: New Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw aims to match Shaun Edwards’ impact

New Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw is hoping to emulate former team-mate and fellow rugby league convert Shaun Edwards by making an impact on Welsh rugby.

Edwards was Gatland’s Wales defence guru between 2008 and 2019, a period which saw Wales win four Six Nations titles and three Grand Slams as well as reaching two World Cup semi-finals.

Forshaw and Edwards were both born in Wigan, played together for the hometown club as they won the World Club Challenge in 1991 and represented Great Britain in rugby league.

Now Forshaw has joined the Wales coaching set-up, while Edwards moved on to France when Gatland’s first reign ended after the 2019 World Cup.

“On my first day here I did a bit of an icebreaker and put up three slides,” said Forshaw.

“One of them was a picture of me and Shaun playing together and I said to the lads that if I have half the impact this fella did, then I’ll be doing all right.”

Forshaw, though, is determined to forge his own path with Wales.

“I know Shaun very well but we haven’t really done much tactical work,” he added.

“I had a few texts with him when it was announced I was coming into this position.

“I’m my own man and believe in what I do myself.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Shaun. He’s a good friend and we go back a long way. I’ve brought my own ideas which is the right thing to do. It’s a new era now.”

Forshaw knows the expectation around former rugby league players and coaches coming into international union positions, having seen another good friend – and Wigan graduate – Andy Farrell make the transition, first with England, then Ireland.

“When Andy first got his job, he was under the pump and the media were writing him off,” said Forshaw.

“It comes with the territory in international rugby. I get that and I’ve been around the game a long time.

“I’m not too flapped about it, and believe in what I’m trying to get here.”

Forshaw joined Wales’ coaching staff from Gallagher Premiership club Sale Sharks, having been one of three new faces recruited by Gatland alongside Alex King and Jonathan Thomas.

Forshaw had been at Sale for a decade, and opted to leave a club flourishing and with ambitions of winning the league. So why swap that for Wales?

“I’ve just turned 53 and I thought that if there is ever going to be a job available in international rugby, this is probably the one I would love to have been offered,” Forshaw said.

“That sounds a bit corny but it’s not. There has been a lot of transition from the autumn with a lot of changes, and with Warren, I just thought it was too good an opportunity with a World Cup coming up.

“I’d been at Sale 10 years, I think hopefully they will go on and win the Premiership this year to be fair.

“I spoke to my wife, I spoke to people like Shaun, Andy Farrell, and the fit was right.

“I had never met Warren, I had an hour on the phone with him just after New Year’s Day.

“Our paths were a bit similar, like a sixth sense. I worked in Galway at Connacht for three years, he had worked there earlier, I have a lot of good friends in Galway who are Warren’s friends.

“The fit just seemed good. I think it has been a great move for me to be quite honest. I am really enjoying it.”

Forshaw is relishing the new job despite the convincing defeat against Ireland, with Wales conceding four tries overall and shipping 27 points in the first 30 minutes.

Forshaw enjoyed a drink with old mate Farrell after the game.

“It was a baptism of fire,” admitted Forshaw.

“I’m not too despondent because we lost the first game. I didn’t expect fairytale starts anyway because that’s where I’m from, and I’ll just graft and graft until we can challenge in that area.

“If we can eradicate that first 20 minutes of discipline and get in the game, we can see massive improvement in this group.

“There’s been a big focus on discipline. Offside penalties are free runs for the opposition.

“We’ve got to tidy that area up quickly and not have any nonsense like that.”

Effort “in bags of abundance” is what Forshaw wants to see from his players.

“If you get that then we have a chance,” added Forshaw.

“Physically I come from a team that prides itself on physicality, and that is what I am trying to instil here.

“First and foremost, it is work-rate and effort, that has got to be a given.

“There are a couple of errors from the weekend where I think we could have had a bit more effort and I am looking forward to seeing that this weekend.”