Rugby World Cup: Welsh squad train in remote Swiss village to improve fitness ahead of tournament

The village of Fiesch is a sleepy one.

Gondolas quietly rise and fall from one of the towering mountains that protect the valley on both sides.

Church bells break the silence of the morning and the streets are empty until visiting hikers rise for a day’s exploration.

But down at the local football pitch, there is an explosion of life.

Coaches bark orders, whistles are blown to signal the next gruelling set. Players groan in pain as they attempt to suck down as much oxygen as possible after passing the final cone. Some collapse to the ground, others hang onto the fence that surrounds the pitch.

The Welsh rugby team are back in the Swiss Alps, hoping to whip themselves into top shape ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

It’s the third time Warren Gatland has brought his charges here. But why?

Wales are looking to utilise the benefits of altitude training. Village pitch is around 1,000 metres above sea level. The air is thinner here.

They’re also adopting a ‘live high, train low’ method that has been common in previous camps too. After their training sessions, Wales travel up the mountain in the gondolas and recover, eat, sleep and bond at over 2,000 metres above sea level. The air is even thinner there.

The whole theory behind this essentially boils down to making the players’ bodies more efficient at using the oxygen they do have available. The hope is they will recover faster when they’re back down around sea level and will be able to push themselves harder than before.

This is not without its challenges, though. The altitude can affect players in different ways and issues with sleep have been reported, which was a common theme four and eight years ago. Though the advice is that after a few days, bodies will adjust and things should sort themselves out.

By mid-morning, down on the Valley floor, temperatures are rocketing towards the 30s and by the middle of the afternoon, the pitch is verging on an inferno.

Because of the bloated number of players currently in camp, they are split into groups and come down the mountain split up into front five players, back-row and half-backs, and outside backs to do their fitness work.

As one group comes down the mountain, they have a full view of the pitch below as they descend and, unnervingly, they also have a full view of the pain being inflicted on the group in front of them.

A tennis centre that sits a drop-kick away from the pitch has been converted into a full functioning gym for the players to use. One of the daily sessions takes place here while the other takes place out in the baking sun later in the day.

Absences are felt at this camp. Stalwarts like Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric retired from Test rugby shortly before the trip. Rhys Webb pulled out to take up a big-money deal in France. Captain Ken Owens is injured.

There is an unmistakable air of youth around this squad.

"We're still quite early on obviously in our preparation for the World Cup,” Head of Physical Performance Huw Bennett tells me. “But with the dynamics of some of the more experienced players pulling out of the squad early on, young boys are chomping at the bit, putting their hands up.

“You're hearing a lot of younger boys' voices more and more, which is great and exciting for us to see."

It is not all about pushing players to their limit. Tactical work has been introduced, with defence coach Mike Forshaw and attack mastermind Alex King having their time with the players.

But with the World Cup still two months away, conditioning work frames everything.

Gatland is always watching. He quietly prowls around the field as his coaching staff pull players from this drill to that one.

His presence is felt, even if he says little.

Players are being pushed to their limits. One, who has been here twice before, bounces towards the gondolas for another 10-minute trip down the mountain. He accompanies a wave with a hearty “How’s it going?”

Around 90 minutes later, our paths cross again. He has ice strapped to his aching limbs, his cheeks are flushed, hair dishevelled. With a puff of the cheeks and wry smile, he offers “Yeah, it’s tough!” and heads to the ice baths.

His next objective is to recover as quickly as possible, soothe his muscles and prepare for whatever the coaching staff will throw at him tomorrow.

At 9pm, Gatland, Bennett and the conditioning staff meet at the top of the mountain to plot tomorrow’s beastings.

Plans are fluid and change regularly depending on how the players are responding to the load they’re being asked to carry.

Naturally, time moves on and we tick slowly toward the opening World Cup match against Fiji.

But in the middle of a small football pitch in the Swiss Alps, time moves so slowly that it feels like the suffering will never end.

Of course, it will end. Wales have one more week out here before they return home to see loved ones.

Then after a few days they jet off to Turkey for a heat camp before warm-up matches against England and South Africa.

Then it’s onto the global gathering in September.

Players are being pushed to the limits this summer. Soon we’ll find out if it’s all been worth it.

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