Edwards’ face lights up pondering his favourite stadium memories over the course of his eight-year career with Wales.
“I’ll get a little tear in my eye…” he said. “It’s a privilege to be part of it. You’ve got the passion of the Welsh fans, it’s in the middle of town and it’s the best stadium in the world in my opinion.
Edwards can look back on some special memories during an illustrious rugby league career with Wigan and Great Britain, but there’s one stadium he would’ve loved to have played in.
Regrets
WRU TV ?: What is one of Shaun Edwards’ biggest regrets as a player? (And it’s not calling @principalitysta the Millennium Stadium!) pic.twitter.com/wOhQmDCYzw
— Welsh Rugby Union ? (@WelshRugbyUnion) October 12, 2016
“One of the few regrets I’ve got from playing is that I was never lucky enough to play at Principality Stadium,” he said.
“I’d have given my right arm to have played just one game there, it would be awesome.”
Edwards, who has helped Wales to three RBS 6 Nations championships during his tenure, said there was one Principality Stadium match in particular which stood out in his mind.
“I’ll never forget that day when we beat England in 2013,” he said. “The noise and the atmosphere was something I’d never ever experienced before or since. I’ve been lucky enough to play in front of 100,000 people but I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that.”
Edwards’ first match at the stadium as part of Warren Gatland’s coaching team was a 30-15 RBS 6 Nations victory against Scotland in 2008 – the second step on the road to the famous Grand Slam.
His memories of the day tell you all need to know about a man who takes personal pride in the art of defending.
“The Scottish team was on our try line in the last 10 minutes of the game and the game was already won by this stage,” he remembered.
Defensive stint
“We were winning by about 15 points so the score didn’t really matter, but the boys really put in a strong defensive stint and the crowd were going absolutely wild and I thought ‘we could be on to something good here’ because everybody’s buying into the fact you have to have a good defence to win anything.
“I’ll never forget all the crowd cheering in the end when Scotland knocked the ball on – you’d think we’d scored a try! It’s absolutely awesome for the guys when the crowd get behind them as they’re defending and tackling their hearts out.”
You’ve read about Shaun Edwards’ outstanding moments but what are your favourite memories of Principality Stadium? Let us know using #PrincipalityStories on Twitter
