A mainstay at scrum-half for London Irish from 2001 to 2006, Edwards spent almost five years as backs coach at the Recreation Ground, prior to which he was head coach of the Dragons.
“I’m delighted to be coming home to embark on this exciting challenge with Wales Sevens,” said Edwards, who was Wales U20 head coach in 2010-11 at a time when he was the youngest professional coach in Welsh rugby. “The last few years at Bath have been excellent for my development – working alongside world-class players and coaches – and that’s something I want to use to build on the positives of the sevens programme.
“We have a lot of talented young Welshmen coming through and I want to capitalise on their abilities and ambitions by letting rugby sevens provide them with a platform to succeed.”
Ryan Jones, WRU Performance Director, said of the appointment: “Bringing someone with all the coaching experience Darren has back to Wales is a big positive for rugby in this country. It’s a move that really boosts the sevens programme and, in turn, can only help the development of young players coming through the regional and age grade pathways as well.”
Jones explained that repatriating Welsh coaches is a big ambition for the WRU, adding: “As Welsh people, we’re always very keen to return home and I’m very happy that Darren is doing so and rejoining the WRU family. Having his input not only for sevens, but across our age grades, will be highly beneficial.”
The Maesteg man’s first World Rugby Sevens Series tournament in charge of Wales will come in Dubai in December, where his side will face New Zealand, Samoa and Canada.
His appointment follows the news that former Wales Sevens head coach Richie Pugh would be joining Ospreys as Contact Skills Coach.
