Gatland takes his currently unbeaten Wales squad to the home of the Rugby World Champions for two Tests in June – at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein on Saturday 7th and then Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria on Saturday 14th – and preparations begin next Monday at the Irish resort renowned for its use of Cryotherapy treatment.
Dragons duo Rhys Thomas and Andy Williams have also confirmed their presence for the training camp after regional Head Coach Paul Turner released them. The other two doubts for the trip were Sonny Parker and Lee Byrne, whose availability will be confirmed tomorrow (Thursday).
“I took a phone call from Paul Turner this morning and was pleased to accept his support for what we are trying to achieve with the training camp,” said Gatland. “He sees the opportunity on offer for both Rhys and Andy to be involved in the international environment and I’d very much like to thank him for his cooperation.
“Dafydd and Andrew are two players who have shown form at regional level this season and they now have an opportunity to put their hands up for the South Africa trip.”
Gatland is taking his RBS Six Nations Grand Slam side to the training base in Wexford to utilise Cryotherapy, a therapy which aids the body’s recovery from exercise and therefore, basically, allows for more training to be undertaken in a short space of time than would normally be possible.
“Cryotherapy is something that has been around in sport for some time and something I’ve used before at specific times as an aid to training at various camps in Poland whilst I was in charge of Ireland and London Wasps,” added Gatland.
“The facilities at the camp in Wexford will be top notch, but as much as anything else this is a chance for us to gather as a group for the first time since the Six Nations, to train together and to prepare.”
Dafydd JONES (LLANELLI SCARLETS)
DoB: 24.06.79. 6’3″ / 1.90m. 17st 0lbs / 108kgs
International record: 29 caps (W 12; L 17; 10 pts – 2T)
Andrew BISHOP (OSPREYS)
DoB: 07.08.85. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 14st 2lbs / 90kgs
International record: Uncapped
