Last updated on .From the section Welsh Rugby

Shaun Edwards was appointed Wales defence coach in 2008

Incoming Wales coach Wayne Pivac says a replacement for defence coach Shaun Edwards has already been appointed.

Head coach Warren Gatland and the current Wales coaching team step down after the World Cup this autumn, when Scarlets boss Pivac takes over.

Pivac said talks took place in August about Edwards staying with Wales.

"Shaun was the first person I spoke with. He indicated he was under pressure from Wigan and that the timeline was unrealistic," he said.

"I talked around a process we would be going through. That was pre-autumn and pre-Six Nations. Shaun signed with Wigan and that put paid to the discussions going any further.

"We have finished the process and we have recruited a defence coach and that will come out in due course, hopefully."

Edwards has been acknowledged as a key architect of Wales' 2019 Six Nations Grand Slam, with the team conceding only seven tries in five matches.

However the former rugby league international revealed after Wales' decisive 25-7 win over Ireland that he was still a free agent after the World Cup and had not in fact agreed to join rugby league giants Wigan.

"I haven't signed a contract with anybody yet," the 52-year-old said.

Pivac said he had been surprised by the stories that emerged after Wales' Grand Slam win.

"Shaun knew he was on the [Wales] shortlist, that he was the incumbent. We'd had a meeting and subsequent conversations," said the New Zealander.

"We are a little bit disappointed that's come out over the weekend but we are certainly not going to let it detract from a great result at the weekend.

"It's between Shaun and Wigan. I have no control over that. I only know about the discussions we had way back in August.

"Shaun has done a fantastic job - we all know that. He's a very, very good defence coach."