"Copy the Climate" - Wales squad train in 40 degree heat to prepare for Japan Summer tour

Interim head coach Sherratt is looking to get his side back to winning ways as they travel to the Far East for a two-Test series next month. Wales will face Japan in both Kitakyushu and Kobe, as they’ll look to get their first Test win in 17 matches.

In a close and tenebrous environment where music is blaring, Wales are acclimatising to what they’ll be experiencing when they land in Japan, and they are doing so all from their Vale of Glamorgan base in South Wales.

Welsh rugby is no stranger to warm weather training, but in the past they have setup camp in Antalya, Turkey where the Gloria Sports Arena has been called home. However, this time around The Barn – which is situated up the hill away from the Vale hotel – has become the epicentre for Wales’ preparations for the warmth of Japan.

It’s not only Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms side that Wales will be battling but also tackling the heat and humidity will be on the mind of all 33 players that Sherratt has named. The heating in the gym has been turned up substantially where at times it has reached more than 38 degrees.

Players have been using exercise and assault bikes, as well as rowing and skiing machines, in a conditioning session leaving players completely drenched in their own sweat, something of which they’ll quickly need to get use to.

“It was 37 degrees and 88% humidity the other day when we did a sort of off-field conditioning session and then came straight down and got into some skills,” said Wales winger Josh Adams who was still sweating from an earlier session in the day on Tuesday afternoon.

“We are trying to copy what the climate would be like out there as best we can and try and make it as comfortable as it can for us, so we’re in a good space to cope with anything.

“When we’re doing small bits of skills, we’ve had a ball in a bit of water. Also we’ve been doing skills straight out of the heat chamber, so the heat’s ramped right up in there.”

Fiesch, Switzerland is another destination which some Wales players will have fond memories of as they prepared for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The secluded Swiss village in the Alps, where the elevation is barely under 3500 feet.

Warren Gatland took that squad to Fiesch for a gruelling training camp, but Adams believes this camp in Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, which has an elevation of 35 metres is far worse.

“Oh yeah,” explained Adams. “I came out of the chamber on Friday and some boys were like, that’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done and then I was like, it’s got to be in the top three worst I’ve felt after a session.

“It was really bad, because it’s really stuffy as you go. So you’re on a bike, rower, ski, and there’s certain times and calories you’ve got to do.

“But you’re all crammed in there so it’s really uncomfortable like when you’re knackered and you want a bit of space just to breathe, you can’t because it’s so hot and stuffy and everyone’s rubbing against each other.

“You’re trying to not agitate each other because it’s so cramped. But the boys have managed pretty well, no one’s tapped out yet so we’re doing alright.

“We’re weighing in before and after. We take one bottle of water, you ration it for the whole session.

“Not because they want to be horrible, but it gives them a better gauge of how much fluids we lose. Some boys are losing between probably three and five kilos, the bigger boys. The most I was down was three kilos. So, it’s a considerable amount of weight.

“There’s a lot of fluid then you’ve got to re-drink to get your body back to some sort of base level. The worst part is cooling down. You let your body regulate the cold temperature, that’s the worst part.

“They don’t want us hopping in ice baths and everything. You can’t in the game.”

A surprise inclusion in Wales’ training camp, is former international, Leigh Halfpenny former teammate of Adams was announced as a skills coach. The 101-cap international, who sits third on Wales’ all-time points scorers list with 801 points, has linked up with the senior squad as a skills coach for the two-Test series this July.

“I am very good friends with Leigh, and we try to keep things as professional as we can.

“He is quite shy, and he probably feels more comfortable giving me some direction or advice rather than the other lads because he knows me a lot better.

“His input into the defensive side of the game, and how the back field looks, will help Gethin (Jenkins).”

This tour will be all about fitness, as Japan will be use to the climate and will be looking to play an expansive style of rugby and will give Wales a good run for their money. 20 players in Sherratt’s squad have not hit double digits as an international, and following extremely closely is Jones’ side in the World rankings.

“It hurts me when some boys say they’ve never won for Wales,” continued Adams.

“It’s horrible when they say things like that because of the things I’ve experienced. I didn’t know how to lose at one stage for Wales. Even when we weren’t playing well we managed to win. It’s strange. I think the squad was a lot different. The game was a lot different.

“I think the way the game’s played and officiated and trends in the game are a lot different now. We probably just got lost a little bit and trying to find our way back now.

“That’ll come, no doubt, because the talent is as good, certainly. I know I see it every day, these boys are as good as what we’ve had, it’s just confidence is a huge thing, isn’t it?

“I believe that these lads are good enough to produce and win.”