Fr John O Brien and Wasps Rugby club and a great friend of Warren Gatland.

John O Brien is one of the nicest, funniest. and soundest priests I have ever come across.

This is part of the story of his wonderful life..

“He’s an author who specialises in spirituality and helping people to overcome tragedies, depression and things like that. That’s his passion in life.

Fr John has now been a linkedin friend for a year and from time to time we talk on the phone. I find his voice so gentle and he really gets stuff so quickly. Nobody understands human trickery like he does. He was always interested in mathematics and physics

His connection with Wasps Edwards, Dallaglio and Gatland is a lovely story and the four and apparently still the best of friends.

 A chance meeting between the two ( Edwards and O Brien)  in Jerusalem led to a collaboration to help Wasps Rugby Team... the 'unholy' alliance was a 'match made in heaven.' It is a lovely story..

Shaun Edwards.

HE’S as hard as nails, he’s a proven winner and he’s the architect of the most-imitated defensive system in world rugby.

Those are just some of the reasons why Shaun Edwards is the subject of a high-profile tug-of-war between Wales and England for his services.

The Wasps head coach has already been offered a role by his old mucker Warren Gatland within the new Welsh management team.

But he could also be presented with an alternative opportunity to take charge of the second-tier England Saxons side.

So what is it exactly that makes this man so special and so much in demand?

Well, you only need to listen to people who have worked with him over the years to get the answer to that question.

There’s no one better qualified to talk about Edwards than Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio, who has dovetailed so effectively with the former rugby league great over the past six years, lifting a succession of trophies along the way.

Writing in his autobiography It’s in the Blood, Dallaglio reflects on the hugely successful coaching partnership Edwards forged with Gatland at the club.

“In Shaun, Warren had a fantastic partner,” he said.

“Shaun was already at the club when Warren arrived and from day one they got on very well. One came from Waikato on New Zealand’s North Island, the other from a working-class background in the north of England, and although they were from such very different places, they were two peas in a pod.

“Neither sought the limelight and when they walked into a team room, players quickly realised these guys weren’t there to promote themselves. “One of Warren’s first tasks was to make Wasps’ defence more aggressive, which tallied with Shaun’s belief in a blitz defence.

“Warren and Shaun were similar in other ways. They both enjoyed a drink and an occasional bet on the horses, and they had no desire to put themselves above the players.

“Perhaps more important than any of the technical stuff was the human energy the duo brought to the club. They interacted with the players in a way that earned them respect.”

Dallaglio also revealed how

Edwards was innovative in his motivational methods – such as when he invited the former world boxing champion Steve Collins into the Wasps changing room before the Premiership Final against Gloucester in 2003.

“I could tell Shaun wanted Steve to say a few words to us because Steve was a true warrior who had been in a lot of tight situations in the ring and had handled them brilliantly,” recalled the former England captain.

“Steve observed our build-up and then spoke with Shaun, basically saying he didn’t think there was anything he could say that would improve our mind-set going on to the pitch. Steve could see we were ready. We won 39-3 that day.”

Edwards – a former England schoolboy captain in both league and union – is certainly not averse to thinking outside the box, as demonstrated by the way he has turned to divine intervention to aid Wasps’ cause.

Following a chance meeting at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, he introduced Father John O’Brien – a Franciscan monk from Athlone in Ireland – into the camp and it’s a holy alliance that has proved a match made in heaven.

The Irish priest has become a regular fixture in the Wasps dressing room pre-match, with the players holding great store by his calming presence.

“I suppose I’m part of the furniture by now,” he said.

“You could describe me as a sort of spiritual director-cum-mascot.”

Edwards swears by Father John and who’s to say he won’t be drafted into the Welsh set-up in the months to come?

“He is very quiet in the dressing room, but the players all know he’s there if any of them need him,” explained Edwards.

“I met him in Jerusalem when I took my mum on a pilgrimage eight years ago. We hit it off, talking about sport and we kept in touch.

“He’s an author who specialises in spirituality and helping people to overcome tragedies, depression and things like that. That’s his passion in life.

“He has helped me in that respect. He has the gift of healing which makes him a very special person.

“For the big games, he’s almost part of the Wasps squad.

“At the Heineken final last season he sat on the bench with the coaches. He goes into the changing rooms because the players want him to be there.

“They love him being around because he’s such a likeable person.”

Giving his own take on his role, O’Brien said, “If you ask me what I do, I couldn’t quantify it.

“Shaun and myself have been through a lot. Sometimes Shaun will say, ‘So and so isn’t too good, would you have a word?’

“The dressing room tends to be a very quiet place before kick-off. People are tensing themselves up, some going round punching themselves.

“It’s just a case of being there for them, of loving them I suppose. It’s a word all of us men find hard to let out.

“At one stage during the Heineken Cup final last season I was saying my rosary, Ian McGeechan was chewing his nails and Shaun was reading about existentialism, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.”

Clearly then Edwards is not your average rugby union coach – but there’s no doubting his track record since switching codes after a glittering career in league.

He has twice helped guide Wasps to Heineken Cup glory – once in partnership with Gatland and once with current director of rugby McGeechan – while also securing three successive Premiership titles.

The man who scored the winning try in the 2004 Heineken final – Rob Howley – could soon be reunited with Edwards, having also received an offer from Gatland to be part of the new Wales management team.

Blues backs boss Howley has nothing but praise for the coaching set-up he played under at Wasps.

“If it wasn’t for the work I did with those two guys, I wouldn’t be where I am now,” said the former Wales skipper.

“What I learned in my time at Wasps enabled me to make that next step into the coaching side.

“I learned such a lot as a rugby player and a person. It was a sponge effect, where I wanted to learn as much as possible off Warren and Shaun.

“They are two of the best coaches I’ve been privileged to play under, and I learned so much.”

Howley’s half-back partner at High Wycombe was Alex King – now with Clermont Auvergne – who has similarly warm words for Edwards.

“Shaun has a unique style of management and is a very, very special coach,” said King.

Edwards’ success has been based around the now much-imitated blitz defence system he introduced at Wasps.

This involves the whole defensive line moving forward as one as soon as the ball leaves the base of a ruck or maul, with the idea being to attack the opposition on their outside shoulder.

The aim is to prevent the attacking team gaining any ground by tackling them behind the gain-line and forcing interceptions and charged down kicks.

Most of the collisions end up taking place close to the breakdown and in the midfield channels, denying the flyers out wide any chance to wreak havoc.

In many ways, it’s similar to the defence used in rugby league which is hardly surprising given Edwards’ illustrious background in that code where he won a record number of trophies as a scrum-half with Wigan and also played 36 times for Great Britain.

The blitz can admittedly leave you vulnerable to chip kicks over the top or to any player who succeeds in breaking the line.

But, when it works, it’s devastatingly effective and more often than not it works supremely well for Wasps.

The strategy was perfectly illustrated during last month’s Heineken Cup victory at Stradey when the Scarlets midfield had the life squeezed out of it by a black and yellow stranglehold.

As ever, it was outside centre Fraser Waters – one of the great unsung heroes of English rugby – who acted as the defensive general.

In Waters, Edwards has found the perfect man to implement his game-plan, with the South African-born tackling machine the key cog in the suffocating blitz which has driven so many teams to distraction.

“We dedicate 50 per cent of our training sessions to defence because we know it wins championships,” explains Waters.

“We’re not a big smash-our-heads-against-the-wall team. Generally we’re quite relaxed, apart from before our first Heineken final in 2004, when we were ready to run through brick walls.”

It is a tribute to Edwards, Waters and the rest of the Wasps wrecking crew that the “organised mayhem” of their rush defence is widely copied these days.

For a few exhilarating days this summer, Waters thought England were on the brink of adopting it too after he was included in the pre-World Cup squad.

Instead he was off-loaded after a training camp in Portugal without getting a chance in the warm-ups.

“It was a shame and hugely disappointing,” he said.

“I thought they might use our system at the World Cup because they didn’t have a lot to lose. But you need someone who knows how to coach it. Shaun Edwards does and South Africa have also adopted it. They were pretty effective, weren’t they?”

So it’s a fair bet that Edwards will bring the blitz to Wales if he does accept the offer from Gatland.

The question then will be who he chooses to fill the Waters role as his defensive co-ordinator out on the field, with Sonny Parker possibly a leading candidate.

Perhaps the last word should go to Dallaglio, who was recently asked whether he would have a problem with Edwards joining Wales on a part-time basis.

“I wouldn’t, but I think Shaun might cause problems for England!” he said.

Let’s hope Lawrence is spot on.

Shaun Edwards – The story so far...

Name: Shaun Edwards

Born: Wigan (Oct 18, 1966)

Age: 41

Rugby League playing record

Club career: 

1983-96: Wigan (467 apperances, 1140 points) 

1989: Balmain Tigers, Aus (12, 4) 

1997, 1998-2000: London Broncos (22, 26) 

1998: Bradford Bulls (22)

Representative teams: 

England (1992 & 1995 World Cups) 

Great Britain (36 caps, 16 tries)

Rugby league honours: 

Eight championship titles and nine Challenge Cups with Wigan

Rugby Union coaching career: 

Wasps (backs coach, head coach): 2001-present day

Honours: