FIRST it was the French commandos.
Now Vern Cotter has secured the services of a former hostage negotiator as part of Scotland's preparations for the Rugby World Cup.
The 46-strong squad, which met up for the first time yesterday and will be cut to 31 for the tournament itself, fly out to the Pyrenees on Thursday for a week at altitude. Cotter, who revealed 10 days ago that the training there will include exercises with French special forces, yesterday explained the longer-term role that will be taken up by a performance coach whom he knows from his former post at Clermont.
"There's a chap who'll be coming to meet us in France called Eric Blondeau, who has worked in hostage negotiations and with the GIGN, which is the French SAS equivalent," the head coach said. "He has a lot of experience in traumatic and difficult decision-making situations and he'll come and speak to a few of the players.
"I used him at Clermont. He'll be periodically coming in and having a talk with myself. I met with him a month or so ago and we spoke about the challenges we have ahead. He's very good at throwing up ideas."
Once back in Scotland, the squad's work will be focused on fitness and on core rugby skills, but in Font Romeu they can look forward to a wider range of activities designed to stretch them mentally as well as physically - including those sessions with France's commandos and marines. "I don't want this [training camp] to be something to just get rid of and get to the games," Cotter continued.
"I want to see players enjoy being together and working hard for each other. That's one of the key things to any group performance - getting them to trust each other. That's why some of the scenarios will have those type of factors involved.
"It will not be that hard, honestly. It's an ideal training level at 1800-2000 metres above sea level. I'll be looking at character and how they adapt. We'll put them into different teams and they'll have different challenges - resourcefulness, mental and physical resilience and elements of creativity.
"The commander said 'Trust me Vern, I've done this before'. They did it with the French team [before the Word Cup] in 2007 and 2011 and I'm sure they've perfected a few techniques. They didn't lose anyone.
"It's the Auld Alliance, isn't it? We've always helped each other."
While Scotland lost all five games in the Six Nations, Cotter has been encouraged by the fact that the bulk of the squad enjoyed a successful end to the season at club level - above all the big contingent who won the PRO12 with Glasgow. "The experience they have gained from that competition and winning it will be so important at critical times," he said. "They have got this capital of confidence."
Meanwhile, the start of Italy's preparations for the World Cup was postponed yesterday after the players went on strike over bonus payments at the tournament. The squad want match-by-match bonuses, but the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) insist they will only offer a single payment based on how well the team performs.
"I'm disappointed by the attitude taken by the athletes," FIR president Alfredo Gavazzi said. "We remain confident that, as always, common sense will prevail."
Italy are due to face Scotland home and away in their World Cup warm-up matches in August.
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