Camps will be tough... but not all the time, Gats tells Wales squad
WARREN Gatland got his first glimpse of his entire Wales World Cup training squad this week when the players reported for duty altogether.
So far this summer, Wales’ players have been in World Cup camp at Welsh rugby’s Vale HQ in smaller groups, so Tuesday marked the official start of the next phase of preparations.
Wales will head to Switzerland in a matter of days for their first of two abroad training camps, and Gatland has warned players the camp will be tough but “not every training session is brutal”.
The squad will be engaging in high-altitude training to enhance their cardiovascular capacity, with fitness having been Gatland’s major priority at previous World Cup camps.
WRU footage shows Gatland telling players on Tuesday that there will be ample rest periods for them to recover in Switzerland, too.
The clip kicks off with Wales team manager Martyn Williams telling players: “Obviously it’s day one today of probably the official World Cup camp.”
Head of physical performance Huw Bennett explained: “Going into this week, it’s a bit more rugbyfocused but we’ve still got components of conditioning.
“Just going back to four and a half weeks ago, we said the big focus was increasing our muscle mass going in to the Switzerland camp.
“That’s a big push this week again, alright?”
The film cuts to the players doing some work with ball in hand and completing rugby drills, with Gatland then addressing those in the meeting room ahead of the first abroad trip.
“We’ve had a good start, we’ve had a good week this week, now we can start getting a bit excited about what’s happening in Switzerland,” he said.
“It’s going to be tough. But you’re going to work hard, we’re going to have some time off and some days off.
“There’s a couple of pretty good places we’re going to in terms of the views and stuff if people haven’t been there. We’ll also try and enjoy ourselves as well, let’s make sure we do that. Same with Turkey.”
You can see the full video clip at www.walesonline.co.uk
Earlier in the week, the Wales squad was reduced to 47 players, with Ken Owens being ruled out through a back injury.
Josh Macleod and Will DaviesKing were also released through injury.
Ospreys hookes Sam Parry was then called up to the squad.
The latest exits follow the international retirements of Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn Jones and Rhys Webb, plus the release of Rhys Carre and withdrawal of Cory Hill.