It has begun! 7.30am Monday morning, the off-season, the rest period for a number of the Wales squad is over as they report the WRU National Centre of Excellence (NCE) for Day One of Week One.
Thirteen weeks of preparation lie ahead for the squad, combining training at the state-of-the-art NCE a the Vale Resort with grueling training camps in Switzerland, Qatar and Poland, plus three warm-up tests.
Around half the squad were present on Monday morning. Each player in Warren Gatland’s 47-man training squad, has been given a four-week rest period away from the game and from training following the conclusion of their season.
So for the ones who have served that time, it’s back into training with Wales.
The first two weeks of the schedule sees the squad prepare for what lies ahead in the first training camp in Switzerland, where they head on July 1st.
The week’s timetable is heavily focused around conditioning with an element of skills. The squad are split into two groups and led through a range of fitness and conditioning drills combined with quick skill blocks led by the coaching team.
The squad were greeted by a new face in the management team on Monday morning, with Paul Stridgeon, ‘Bobby’ as he is better known welcoming them into training.
Bobby has been recruited as the new consultant Head of Physical Performance. His CV speaks for itself, a wealth of experience at the top of the game. He is very well known to the management and a number of players from his time at Wasps and the British and Irish Lions. He is currently Head of Strength and Conditioning at European Champions Toulon and he will combine that role with his Wales job. It is worth noting he spent a number of years over the bridge at Twickenham with the England side.
Each day this week (apart from the usual Wednesday day off) has seen the squad in for a 7.30am start. An intense morning follows with the players usually heading out of the door just after midday. They base themselves in the team room at the NCE, with squad management – medics, conditioners, coaches and analysts all on hand to assist.
Next Monday will see another ten or so players link up with the squad and a similar schedule lies ahead.
The countdown begins: Training week one
Thirteen meticulous weeks of preparation has been scheduled for the Wales team as they build up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup. As week one draws to a close we learn a little more about what the squad have been upto.
