Shaun Edwards has asked Wasps to release him on a part-time basis to become Warren Gatland's coaching assistant with Wales.
Wasps and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) are in negotiations for the former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league player to take up a part-time role as Wales defence coach.
"I want to improve as a coach, but I don't want to harm my situation at Wasps," Edwards told the Guardian. "I want to go on coaching there, and really it's just a question of the club and Wales coming to some agreement."
Edwards, 41, announced yesterday that he had turned down England.
“At present, I don’t see his equal in northern hemisphere coaching,” Craig Dowd, his Wasps co-coach, said yesterday. “England should be investing time in him, but they’re losing a very, very good coach. Their loss is Wales’s gain.”
One of the most highly-rated coaches in rugby union, Edwards helped coach Wasps to the Heineken Cup and three Guinness Premiership titles.
Wasps chief executive Tony Copsey told BBC Sport Wales the WRU had made an official approach for their head coach. "It is still far from being a done deal," he said. "But we would hope to sort things as quickly as we can because it runs the risk of being distracting."
Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio believed it was in the RFU’s best interest to include Edwards in their set-up. "Shaun Edwards would be a huge asset for England and it would be disappointing to see him coaching Wales," Dallaglio said. "But when you compare the options it is not difficult to see which is more attractive."
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