Wales reveal their Rugby World Cup plans; extremes of altitude, cold and two games against Ireland

In between playing Ireland home and away in August, the Welsh side will travel to the Alps, Qatar and Poland.

The countdown is definitely on for next year's Rugby World Cup. We're already stocking up on supplies of green face paint in the hope of cornering the market for the Irish homecoming but the Welsh Rugby Union have far more detailed, and serious, plans already in place. WalesOnline has published details of the Welsh team's plans and it seems they are leaving nothing to chance. In July, the Welsh side will meet in Switzerland where they will live at altitude, but train at lower levels, for a fortnight. They will then head to Doha in Qatar, where they will train at the Aspire Sports Centre, so they can practice at very high temperatures as well as use the facilities hypoxic chambers to recreate the feeling of training at altitude. They will then head back to Wales, play Ireland on August 8 in Cardiff and then squeeze in a trip to the familiar surroundings of Spala and their cryotherapy chambers in Poland before heading to Dublin to play Ireland again on August 29. The Welsh squad will be named two days after the Aviva clash. Gatland tells the paper: “The training camps have been designed to push the limits of the squad and ensure we peak at the tournament. We were very pleased with the results of the 2011 preparation and this schedule not only uses what we learnt back then but builds upon it.

"We have spoken at length about the benefits of being together as a squad for longer periods and I’m sure the results will show that come game time at the World Cup.”