These are your rugby headlines on Monday, July 3
Plumtree set to fly out
Wales head out to Switzerland today for the first of their summer training camps, with shock call-up Taine Plumtree due to be among the departing party.
WalesOnline reported on Sunday that new Scarlets signing Plumtree was being considered by Warren Gatland as a surprise candidate to join the World Cup training camp on the continent.
It is now understood the Swansea-born back-rower joined up with the camp on Saturday. Gatland’s men will spend two weeks in Fiesch as their World Cup preparations ramp up, with 47 players - plus Plumtree - travelling out to Switzerland.
READ MORE: Wales plotting confusion to unlock their most potent weapons at Rugby World Cup
Last week, Gatland said: “We’re looking forward to getting the group back together for a few days further training in Wales before we head to Switzerland.
“We’ve done a lot of good preparation already here in Wales and we are heading to Fiesch where we are looking to get the benefits of sleeping at altitude and will kick our training up another gear.
“Owen Williams and Alex Cuthbert won’t travel to Switzerland for personal reasons but we are looking them to attend our training camp in Turkey.
“Taulupe Faletau will travel out to Switzerland for the second week of the training camp as he’s managing a bit of a calf injury and so he can help out at home with his young family following the recent birth of his third child.”
Following the training camp in Switzerland, the squad will have a few days off before heading to a training camp in Turkey on July 23.
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Shane warns of what's to come
Wales rugby legend Shane Williams has warned the Wales players heading out to Switzerland that they'll be pushed to their limits as Warren Gatland prepares them physically and mentally for the Rugby World Cup later this year.
The Wales squad leave for continental Europe today on a two-week camp which will see them step up their preparations for the tournament in France.
Williams, in his column for The Rugby Paper, harked back to the Wales' squad trip to Spala in Poland before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand and said the demands the players are about to go through will test them to their limit.
He began: "Don't tell me or any of the boys from 2011 that the players in the Welsh squad training for the World Cup are having a hard time of it. Hoods, splashes of water in their faces and carrying logs on long marches – luxury! For me, Warren Gatland has gone soft by not taking them to Spala, in Poland. Now that was real torture…but it worked.
"The Welsh players are off to train at altitude in Switzerland for the next two weeks and I’m sure they will be pushed to their limits. These are the days when you work harder than ever before to build up your physical and mental toughness. I don’t think I was ever fitter in my life than I was going into the 2011 World Cup. We all felt indestructible!"
Williams went on to detail how players were thrown into twice-daily sessions in a cryotherapy chamber with temperatures plunging to minus 184F (-120C).
"We had to do this twice a day for a fortnight, going in five at a time before heading out to train," he added. "It seemed madness at the time, and initially we all questioned why we were doing it. The cold hit you so hard it we felt it was going to kill us. I got taken to places in my physical being, my resistance and in my mind that I had never been before. We all went through a lot of pain."
But the former winger says all the mental and physical endurance was worthwhile.
"There were many times we questioned why we had to do put our bodies through such extreme things, but by the end of it all the penny had dropped, and we realised what it had all been about," he added. "We all felt a million dollars, unbeatable and with complete faith in our own capabilities as well as those of our team-mates.
"That’s what the training camps in Switzerland and Turkey will all be about for the current crop of Welsh players. Getting their minds and bodies into a position to deliver on the biggest stage in their sport."
Hougaard out of intensive care
Some good news being reported from South Africa, with reports emerging Derick Hougaard has been discharged from hospital after a three-week stay in intensive care.
The Springbok was admitted to the ICU with respiratory pneumonia last month and while he has now been discharged, reports state he is still "extremely weak".
The former fly-half was being treated at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria. Hougaard’s partner, Nádine, told the Rapport newspaper that while Hougaard is now at home, he remains frail.
"I can't believe it, it's been very rough," said Nádine.
"He is not out and about, but he is at home. He is, at the moment, extremely weak and can't really hold a conversation, as his vocal cords are still swollen."
Cotter gets new job
Former Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has been named as the new coach of the Super Rugby Pacific side Blues.
He has penned a two-season deal with the club. He will replace Leon MacDonald, who will be taking up a job with the All Blacks as an assistant next year. Jason O’Halloran, who was Cotter's assistant during his time with Scotland, will join him.
“I’ve watched this team thrive in recent years and I’m excited by the challenge of taking them forward and building on a solid base,” said Cotter, whose three years in charge of Fiji ended in February.
“It’s great to have Jason joining me at the Blues.
“Since our time in Scotland, we’ve remained firm friends and often pick up the phone to discuss current trends in the game – I know he’ll add real value to an already strong coaching team.”
