Catalans Dragons will bounce straight back down to earth after spending a week at a high-altitude training camp in the Pyrenean mountains near Perpignan.
Coach Steve McNamara took players and staff to the Font Romeu ski resort for a mid-season bonding exercise in the snow-covered peaks behind Mount Canigou and he reported a healthy glow in the squad upon its return to the warm sunny beaches of Canet.
He told League Express, “It was a natural break in the season; we’d had eleven games and played each team once; we’re not in the cup so it was an ideal opportunity to come up into the mountains and assess our season so far.
“We looked at the things we are doing well and at the things we can improve, got some training in and some social activities.
“It’s been a really good combination of things for us and it was the perfect chance to regroup, assess and move on to the next part of the season.”
Club President Bernard Guasch and General Manager Alex Chan joined the squad for the mountain trip, which couldn’t have come at a better time after two difficult years, according to McNamara.
He added, “With Covid over the last couple of years it has been difficult to do things collectively and we saw this as an ideal opportunity to come away.
“Of course we’d have loved to have been playing in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, but once that wasn’t going to happen, we needed to make the most of it and we’ve done that.
“All the clubs that have had the week off following the Easter programme will feel the benefit; for us, it will freshen people up and give our injured players a week where there is no pressure trying to come back too early.
“But it’s important that you emerge from this time off playing well, because you’re straight back into it at full speed.”
Les Dracs will hit the ground running against Warrington Wolves in Saturday’s televised Round 12 Super League clash at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
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