WIGAN believe they have got the best of both worlds after turning to former favourites Shaun Edwards and Adrian Lam to succeed Shaun Wane as head coach.

Edwards, 51, will return to his hometown club, where he won 37 trophies in a glittering 15-year career, but not until after the 2019 rugby union World Cup.

The former Great Britain scrum-half was determined to see out his contract with the Welsh Rugby Union before taking up a three-year deal with the Warriors, who have turned to Lam to hold the fort in the meantime.

Lam, 47, currently an assistant with Sydney Roosters, will take over from Wane when he leaves the club at the end of the season to become the high performance coach for the Scottish Rugby Union before returning to Australia to resume his coaching career.

Edwards, who has spent the last 17 years in rugby union, was at the heart of Wigan's historic Challenge Cup run in which they won eight back-to-back Wembley titles.

"Shaun Edwards is a legendary figure in both codes of rugby as a supremely gifted player and as a highly-successful coach," Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said.

"He is an inspirational figure, a born leader and a winner at everything he has turned his attention to.

"He also has Wigan in his blood. We're delighted to have been able to bring Shaun back to the club which he represented with such distinction."

After leaving Wigan in 1997, Edwards had brief spells at Bradford and London Broncos before retiring in 2000 and 12 months later switched codes by joining Wasps as defence and backs coach.

He took over as head coach in 2005 and guided Wasps to a hat-trick of domestic titles and the Heineken Cup in 2004 and 2007 and went on to enjoy tremendous success with Wales, helping them to Grand Slam triumphs in 2008 and 2012.

WRU chairman Gareth Davies said: "We would like to congratulate Shaun on his appointment at Wigan Warriors.

"Shaun has and continues to be a great servant to Welsh rugby. He has been part of a hugely successful coaching team over the past 10 years and we would like to thank him for all of his efforts.

"From a Wales perspective, entering a crucial Rugby World Cup (RWC) year it is great that Shaun has committed to seeing out his contract with the WRU and to continue to help lead Wales into the RWC."

While Wigan wait for Edwards to honour his commitments with Wales, the appointment of Lam will also be warmly welcomed by fans.

The Papua New Guinea international became a favourite during a three-year spell at the DW Stadium, where he played a key role in Wigan's 2002 Challenge Cup win at Murrayfield.