During his storied stint in charge of Wales and the British & Irish Lions, Warren Gatland has earned a reputation for finding exacting locales for his players to train.
Their base camps in Spala and Gdansk in Poland are famed for cryotherapy sessions, which help repair muscle damage so the players can train six times a day.
But they have been there, done that, got the chilblains. So where to next?
Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in England next year, Gatland and his coaching staff want to set their players a new challenge. They settled on Qatar in the height of summer.
“Talking to our trainers, they felt like we conquered [training in Poland] last time,” Gatland said last week when announcing next summer’s training camps in Switzerland and Doha.
“So from a psychological point of view, this is giving us another challenge.
“The challenge is doing that in Switzerland at altitude and also at 45-50°C in Qatar.”
The World Cup hopefuls are reportedly heading to Doha next June or July, as part of the build-up to the showpiece in England, starting in September 2015.
It is not fully confirmed, but the Welsh side are likely to head to the Aspire Academy, where Adam Beard, their head of physical performance, used to work.
They are also expected to make use of the facilities for their rugby-specific training at Doha’s rugby club.
And they probably will not have to worry about queuing up to use the tackle bags or scrum-machine at that time of year.
“We don’t train at that time of year, to be honest – nobody is usually here then,” said Aaron Palmer, the Doha head coach, who, like Gatland, is from New Zealand.
“We have a full-size football pitch at Aspire, which is G4, top of the range, which meets IRB and Fifa approval.
“They could use that, the strength and conditioning rooms. It will be a one-stop camp for them.”
Presumably, the time spent outdoors would be kept to a minimum.
“Most people who arrive into the region during this time and attend pre-season struggle to adapt,” said Jamie Clarke, the former Abu Dhabi Harlequins captain who now plays for Doha.
“We didn’t start pre-season till August, and even then, was very hot and humid. The boys obviously struggle initially depending on the individual, but we are not professional athletes.
“I cannot see him trying to acclimatise for the World Cup, as the temperatures won’t reach what we have here in England, but perhaps he is looking to put them under some real pressure.”
