The infamous sand dunes of Merthyr Mawr were hit with a vengenance last week. To that point, the squad had been doing fitness work in the mornings and ball skills in the afternoons.

As he revealed to the Bristol Evening Post this weekend, Peter Thorburn is happy with the work done so far.

"There's always room for improvement and I'd be a bit worried if we were at our best at this early stage, but I'm happy so far."

However, he did sound a word of caution for those who have missed out so far:

"We have two more visits (to Merthyr Mawr) planned and everyone will have done it...Otherwise it's not fair on the players who have gone through it."

Alex Brown and Julian White have been making good progress since their ankle operations but haven't taken part in the fitness sessions to dat. Likewise, Matt Salter is still recovering from his neck operation although he hopes to be back very shortly.

In addition, the international tourists are yet to report back. Felipe Contepomi and Agustin Pichot played two home tests against France and England and then endured a gruelling trip to face South Africa. Frankly, they need a bit of a break!

Similarly, Phil Christophers and David Rees have been given extra time off after the England tour of Argentina although I'm told that Reesy has been spotted pounding the streets of Clifton so he's obviously working on his fitness.

The goal for all of the players will be to be available for the preseason friendlies which take place in mid August.

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