For me, Warren Gatland has gone soft by not taking them to Spala, in Poland. Now that was real torture... but it worked.
The Welsh players are off to train at altitude in Switzerland for the next two weeks and I’m sure they will be pushed to their limits. These are the days when you work harder than ever before to build up your physical and mental toughness. I don’t think I was ever fitter in my life than I was going into the 2011 World Cup. We all felt indestructible!
I don’t think anyone preparing for a World Cup is going to shy away from hard work. You are ready to push your body beyond normal limits because the prize is so great. But what Gats exposed us to in Poland took us to places we had never ever imagined we could go to. For those who don’t recall what it was all about, it involved twice daily sessions in a cryotherapy chamber that took you into a small room in which the temperature plunged to minus 184F (-120C).
The army instructors who put the ‘Class of 23’ through their paces recently had nothing on the professor who closed the door on us as we stepped into the icy chamber at the Olympic Sports Centre in central Poland. For the record, the temperatures were around minus 30C lower than the coldest ever recorded on Earth. Freezing!
Denne historien er fra July 02, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra July 02, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Unbeaten Lymm put the Tykes on a leash
LYMM maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign, taking the major scalp of Leeds Tykes and ending the visitors' unblemished start.
Dramatic late win boosts leaders
A LAST-minute converted try saw Tonbridge Juddians snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Barnes.
England need to be more consistent
I WAS at last week's game against the All Blacks and as much as I enjoyed my first visit to the stadium since the Six Nations, I couldn't help noticing a different attitude of those in control of the stadium's notification system which puts out messages to the crowd.
Cuthbert: Wales have to deliver
ALEX Cuthbert says the pressure on Wales is huge ahead of their opening Autumn Nations Series game against Fiji today.
Anyanwu heads the list of star attractions
TOP 14 transfer speculation is always thoroughly entertaining, and this season has so far been no exception.
Goldthorp can challenge Kildunne for No.15 spot
LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning head coach Nathan Smith is backing Fran Goldthorp to compete with Ellie Kildunne, right, for England's No.15 jersey.
Four-try David calls the shots for Bears
MILLIE David helped Bristol blow Leicester away after scoring four of their 10 tries at Welford Road.
Scott-Young keen to follow his father
TYPICAL of most Australians, Scott-Young Angus has fairly sunny disposition and the loose forward is confident that Saints can soon start to turn things around on the road.
When value for money is not part of the deal
ENGLAND'S bench strategy against New Zealand - goodbye \"bomb squad\", hello \"squib squad\"-has been investigated, psychoanalysed, convicted on all charges and mercilessly sentenced by the entire rugby world and its maiden aunt, so there is no earthly point in returning to the scene of the crime.
'I want to prove my worth to Bath'
OUT-OF-FAVOUR winger RuBath aridh McConnochie is hoping to use the Premiership Cup to lay down a challenge to Johann van Graan and make his selection claims impossible to ignore.
