Rejuvenated Edwards ‘thriving’ with Doncaster Knights

With his first touch of the tournament, Edwards not only burst through the door, but tore it off its hinges when he exploded through the tight Italian defence, brushing defenders aside with ease. His brutal onslaught scattered would-be tacklers which ultimately set Phil Jones up to score in the corner.

Edwards’ intervention swung the game in dramatic fashion, with the conversion and a late penalty in the 75th minute seeing Wales escape with a 25-24 victory.

Fast forward four years and the strong running centre was still getting to know his new teammates at Doncaster Knights when playing against Cornish Pirates in the Greene King IPA Championship.

He hit the ball at pace from close range and spread eagled the defence to power his way over. Another tight match and another crucial intervention from Edwards saw the Yorkshire side end up with a narrow 17-15 victory to finish the day top of the Championship table.

The understated Edwards has a simple explanation for making such a statement with his block busting runs.

“It’s probably all that pent up frustration,” he says, “I’m coming out of a similar situation now that I was in Georgia when I was not playing, feeling I wasn’t getting an opportunity, so when I do get on the field I feel like I have really got to perform and I have to unleash all that pent up frustration,” he says.

The 23-year-old moved to Doncaster on loan in March in search of game time having found selection hard to come by with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Jack Dixon and the emerging talent of Aneurin Owen contesting the number 12 shirt at the Dragons.

Edwards, like many others in the current climate, found himself in no man’s land as there was no Celtic Cup, Welsh Premiership or A team fixtures to prove his worth.

“Obviously when it was announced Jamie was coming in, it was tough to hear when it first came out but I was seeing myself as a sort of an underdog at that point then anyway,” says Edwards.

“Ahead of me I had a British and Irish Lion in Jamie and then Aneurin [Owen] coming through who has been brilliant to be fair, you can’t take that away from him, he’s been great this season.

“He’s the next generation and then there’s me sort of stuck in the middle – so I definitely felt like an underdog going in to this season but I felt I trained well, I was trying my best but it’s professional rugby really and you can’t control everything so unfortunately I didn’t play as much as I would have liked.

“At times it’s hard to get motivated but that’s life as a professional rugby player. You have got to try and stay as motivated as you can and just wait for the opportunities but unfortunately that just didn’t come.”

Edwards however took the opportunity to learn some tricks of the trade from Roberts.

“Jamie has got quite a direct approach on how he handles himself off the pitch so he was good coming into the environment, he brought in something a bit different from a leadership point of view so that was good to see. It’s just trying to pick up things from players like that, that’s the best way to improve really.”

Having already played for Hartpury and Jersey in the English Championship, Edwards is grateful for the opportunity Doncaster Knights have offered him and he is determined to repay that faith shown in him.

“Initially, being from Wales you don’t want to leave Wales, leaving my girlfriend Phoebe behind along with my friends and family was tough but it would have been silly to say no. Looking back in hindsight, I have had six games and played reasonably well and happy with how I have been playing. So it has definitely been worth it.”

Hard running and teak-tough defence may be his calling card, but Edwards is hoping to fine tune other areas of his game while with Doncaster. He’s not averse to the occasional off-load for instance.

“I just try and be myself up here, physical and direct and that seems to be what they want me to be,” he says. “But I know I can do a lot more and that is just a confidence thing and the more I play, then the more I’ll start pushing the boat out on that area of the game,” he says.

“In the championship you are definitely able to express yourself, playing back home you are scrutinized quite a lot and games are so few and far between so it’s difficult to go out and express yourself and be confident whereas the thought of having regular game time it’s easier to maybe try that something a little bit different – you’re not in fear of doing something wrong so it’s definitely a different mindset up here,” he added.

“We have had a lot of tight wins, six from seven but none of them have been hugely convincing, we’ve been good at winning those scrappy games and then we played Sarries which is an experience in itself – they had four or five British & Irish Lions and England internationals throughout – it was challenging but we gave it a good go and it’s an invaluable experience to learn from,” he says.

Ironically, on that afternoon he was up against former Dragons teammate Nick Tompkins.

“It was good to play against him and measure myself against him,” explains Edwards, ‘but personally I didn’t play as well as I had in the other games which was a bit disappointing, I would have like to have gone out and put my stamp on the game but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Edwards has enjoyed working under head coach Steve Boden and backs coach Joe Ford at Doncaster.

“Steve Boden has been great for me, a real straight character, tells you what he wants from you, the same with Joe Ford. He’s been brilliant, the way he looks at a game, he’s different to other coaches I’ve been with so it’s great to learn something different and ultimately it’s going to make me a better rugby player and hopefully assist me in completing the goals I have set myself.”

The Knights are targeting a play-off place and currently sit behind Ealing Trailfinders in second place on the points table, just ahead of Saracens. The Knights take on Bedford this weekend before a two week break sets them up for a crucial clash against Ealing. Edwards says the Knights will leave no stone unturned as they attempt to reach their goal.

“I’m definitely enjoying it and feel I’m playing well so it’s just a case of keeping that going and keep the momentum up – I’m putting no pressure on myself and just enjoying it as it comes because games have been few and far between for the last couple of years so it’s like going back to when you were a kid, enjoying yourself and playing for all the right reasons.

“You can’t take the foot off the gas as you have got to win every game so every game is like a cup final for us in terms of the intensity, that pressure is the part that I have missed from not playing really. You struggle to get that buzz in any other facet of life so the pressure is what I am thriving on at the moment.”