49 called for France train-on squad

[oiseau]

Same as last season I believe, most  are FT.

[DoubleD]

Totally amazed Greg White didn't make the French squad Gordon. He had a big season and is an integral part of the TO set-up.

Houles has been brutal so far in the pre-season training. The regime has been upped considerably from last season and many players are hurting. Question is, with such a small squad compared to the other Championship clubs should Houles be pushing his players so hard ? They will have the fitness that's for sure but the playing regime will be tough what with the travelling so i'm hoping they won't fade like last season in the last quarter of the season.

I believe a pre-season friendly has been arranged with the Catalans at Toulouse for the end of january. This is always an interesting fixture for TO as it acts as some kind of a yardstick of their currrent fitness etc.Catalans usually play their strongest players so it should be a good test; maybe for both clubs..

The Catalans could do with that sort of training!

[The Daddy]

Totally amazed Greg White didn't make the French squad Gordon. He had a big season and is an integral part of the TO set-up.

Houles has been brutal so far in the pre-season training. The regime has been upped considerably from last season and many players are hurting. Question is, with such a small squad compared to the other Championship clubs should Houles be pushing his players so hard ? They will have the fitness that's for sure but the playing regime will be tough what with the travelling so i'm hoping they won't fade like last season in the last quarter of the season.

I believe a pre-season friendly has been arranged with the Catalans at Toulouse for the end of january. This is always an interesting fixture for TO as it acts as some kind of a yardstick of their currrent fitness etc.Catalans usually play their strongest players so it should be a good test; maybe for both clubs..

You would hope that once the current squad have signed improved deals they'll make a few more signings. Bonnet and the Milhoudi bros would do well at that level. In the championship you really need a big squad to ensure the season long rigours.

[oiseau]

They certainly need to increase their squad numbers I feel. They relied on juniors from the Academy last season all of whom came through with flying colours but light on the experience needed in the Championship. Kevin Larroyer would be a great addition to any squad and Andrew Bentley should return after a season out so it will be like having a new player on the books.

 

Re - the training techniques : One of the aussies was saying the current regime is as hard as All-Black training regime he went through in Oz.