When Arsenal phoned up the Hotel Camiral on the Costa Brava to book in for Wednesday’s Champions League game against Girona, they were politely told to look elsewhere because the five-star facilities were already full.
England’s rugby team have taken over the place for their Six Nations training camp and they made their reservation months ago, with no stone left unturned in the pursuit of victory.
Based at the foot of the Pyrenees, where cyclists often train for the Tour de France, the facility is set in 540 hectares of countryside, offering plenty of space for Steve Borthwick’s 36-man squad and a core group of around 25 support staff.
In his first campaign as captain, Maro Itoje has been setting the tone around the camp. With players coming together from nine different Premiership clubs, one of his first ideas was to introduce a bonding exercise to bring the players together on a deeper, more personal level.
‘We need to invest more into our relationships and invest more into our rugby,’ Itoje told the squad in his first camp meeting. ‘We can’t do what we did in the autumn and expect different results.’
Each week, one player and one member of support staff stand in front of the group and talk about their hero, highlight, lowlight and hardship. Ellis Genge was nominated first and the prop talked to the squad about the difficulties of being away from his young family. One of the team’s analysts, Carwyn Morgan, was also picked to do a 10-minute presentation.
The five-star Girona complex has been a regular haunt for England’s rugby stars over the years
England’s players crowd around a video replay of their training session near the Costa Brava
Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade and Freddie Steward relax between sessions in the Spanish heat
Anyone can be called upon, from the in-house lawyer to the security specialist who used to work with Prince Harry. Even Tom Kirby, the head chef, one of the busiest men in camp who used to work at London’s iconic Savoy restaurant.
He is responsible for fuelling the players, with some of the biggest front-five forwards requiring up to 6,000 calories per day.
His rule of thumb is two grams of protein per day, per kilo of bodyweight. For reference, Will Stuart, the prop, weighs in at 135kg.
Across one week, the chef expects to get through 2,100 eggs, 100kg of berries, 200kg of bananas, 150kgof potatoes, 25kg of pasta and 350 litres of milk.
That does not include the haul of meat he put on the grill to treat the squad to a wood-fired Spanish BBQ, featuring squid paella, patatas bravas and local yolk sausages.
There is a coffee machine and supplies of Yorkshire Tea down by the training pitches, where England have spent hours preparing for Saturday’s game against Ireland.
Players have been empowered to lead meetings as they re-tune their attacking and defensive structures.
In attack, they are hoping to bring a high-tempo game with more offloading, with Marcus Smith leading a gameplan to break through unstructured defences.
New captain Maro Itoje has been leading the way with his own personal morale-building tricks
Itoje takes on the TopSpin360 helmet, cracking 405 Newtons which was the best in the squad
Prop Ellis Genge takes on the squat rack as England gear up for Saturday’s Six Nations opener
Borthwick’s analysts worked out that the clampdown on escorts to protect defenders under the high ball has resulted in a 66 per cent rise in unstructured start points. England will be hoping to take advantage.
In defence, the focus has been moving away from the so-called ‘blitz’ defence that left the team exposed during the autumn.
They are expected to move away from the out-to-in hammer that swarmed the opposition playmaker, yet left exploitable holes out wide. Time will tell if the changes will pay dividends.
Strength and fitness will be key for an intense line-speed press. The players have all been put through isometric neck-strength training, measuring their maximum power and resistance.
Some of the drills include the unusual-looking TopSpin360 helmet, spinning a weight above the head to train the muscles. Results are delivered on an iPhone and Itoje registered one of the highest outputs, at 405 Newtons.
Naturally, there has been a blend of work and play. The squad have been watching The Traitors in the team room. Assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth has added humour to his meetings, keeping up the tradition of poking fun at the debutant players.
‘Richard Wigglesworth put up some embarrassing old Instagram photos of the two uncapped players, myself and Oscar Beard,’ revealed Cadan Murley, who will start on the wing in Dublin.
‘We got ridiculed for that but I think the rest comes after you’ve played, there’ll be a song. At Quins we’re quite big Taylor Swift fans so Love Story. Maybe something else up the front of the bus, I’m not sure what…’
The squad got through around 2,100 eggs in a week, and were treated to a Spanish barbecue
Ben Earl is a talented golfer and the players have been enjoying time on the resort’s course
The five-star resort’s exclusive golf course has been used by the DP World Tour in the past
The braver players have taken a dip in the unheated outdoor pool to aid their recovery, and others have enjoyed time on the resort’s exclusive golf course, which previously hosted the DP World Tour. Ben Earl is one of the sharpest shooters in the squad, playing off a handicap of three.
‘One of the big things Steve pushes, and we push as a senior group, is when we are not training, go and enjoy yourself,’ said Earl, who is sharing a room with Ben Curry.
‘These are meant to be the best times of your life – playing for your country and being in this environment. We are not short of options here: golf, darts, padel.’
Fly-half Fin Smith should be king of the padel court, having been one of the UK’s top 10 juniors at the beginning of his secondary school education.
Borthwick’s side start their Six Nations title tilt in Dublin against Ireland on Saturday afternoon
The team bonded over watching The Traitors and quizzes from media manager Tim Percival
England beat Arsenal to secure the five-star resort, forcing the Gunners to look elsewhere
Saracens lock Maro Itoje is England’s new captain and has already put his stamp on the squad
The internal competition stretched to a team quiz, hosted by media manager Tim Percival. One of the rounds involved players filling the blanks in rugby news headlines, with Earl and Elliot Daly winning the competition.
On Wednesday night, the players not involved in the matchday 23 will go on a team social to watch Girona’s Champions League match against Arsenal at the nearby Estadi Montilivi.
Coincidentally, Girona midfielder Donny van de Beek – formerly of Manchester United and Everton – lives on-site and was clocked driving past the training ground by a few eagle-eyed players.
Every player in camp, including the non-playing 23, has been required to have their photo taken in the British and Irish Lions kit.
Every eligible player in the Six Nations is obliged to do the same, in a logistical operation to ensure imagery is ready when Andy Farrell names his squad around May.
Of course, only a handful of players will make it into the famous touring party. England will check out of their Spanish base on Thursday afternoon, flying straight to Dublin with the hope of putting their best foot forward.
Eddie Jones will make his ITV punditry debut in Dublin for England’s Test against Ireland.
Former England boss Eddie Jones will be on ITV punditry duty for Saturday’s clash with Ireland
The Australian, who was sacked by the RFU in 2022, will be working alongside Jonny Wilkinson and Brian O’Driscoll for England’s Tests against Ireland and France.
Jones is a blockbuster addition to their punditry team, although the broadcaster did not send any reporters to England’s pre-tournament camp in Spain this week.
England scrum-half Ben Spencer is on the verge of signing a new contract at Bath.
Ben Spencer’s strong form for Bath has earned him a call-up to England’s Six Nations squad
Spencer, 32, joined the club in 2020 and has been integral to the success of Finn Russell in the No 10 jersey.
The No 9, who is on the fringes of Borthwick’s England team, is keen to remain in the Premiership and keep his international career alive.
Eyebrows were raised in European rugby circles when Dominic McKay, the European Rugby (EPCR) chairman, announced on LinkedIn that he was taking on a new role as CEO of Scottish Event Campus.
EPCR chairman Dominic McKay, who is a key figure behind the drive for a Club World Cup
McKay has been one of the key figures behind the drive for a Club World Cup and his departure from EPCR has not yet been announced.
Breitling have launched a limited-edition collection of luxury watches as part of a new sponsorship deal with the Six Nations.
They have produced watches in the colours of each six nations, with just 325 in circulation for each country.
They cost up to £7,660 per watch, with no complimentary timepieces on offer to the players.
