Sam Burgess lifts the lid on Warrington Wolves' week in France

“THE same, but different” is a phrase that could best describe Warrington Wolves’ preparations for tomorrow’s clash with Catalans Dragons.

While they may have spent the entire week in sunnier climes, however, head coach Sam Burgess insists it is all business as they bid to avenge their two defeats to the French side this season.

Having booked their spot in the Challenge Cup Final by thrashing Huddersfield Giants on Sunday, the Wire squad flew out to France on Monday to spend the week in the coastal town of Canet, just outside Perpignan.

A mixture of training, team meetings and time for rest and relaxation has followed before they play at the Stade Gilbert Brutus for the second time this year at the weekend.

With a brutal test expected against a well-rested Dragons side who are fresh from a fortnight’s break, Burgess is hoping their different approach to preparation will pay off.

“The time together is enjoyable as the lads enjoy each other’s company,” he said.

“The travel aspect is always fun as well, going through airports and getting on buses with music on and plenty of laughter.

“It’s been a nice few days but at the end of the day, we’re here for business. That’s the prize we want.”

On Catalans, he added: “They’re a physical side and they’re consistent.

“They’re in that top bracket of teams and they have some really exciting players like Arthur Mourgue, Jordan Abdull’s been going well for them and both wingers are dominant.

“We’re expecting a physical game – they’ve got a big forward pack.

“Round One was a good eye-opener for me as I was surprised by the physicality. That was a great contest and we’re expecting much the same.

“It will be a great atmosphere – I believe there’s 1,000 Warrington fans coming over which adds to the occasion. It’s going to be great for the players to experience that.”

Having arrived on Monday, the players held their main on-field training session on Wednesday before a day of video work and team meetings yesterday.

This morning, they will hold their final “captain’s run” session as normal before playing the game tomorrow evening.

“We’ve basically taken the week we would have had in England and brought it to France,” Burgess said.

“I’d planned in my head to be in this position as I thought we’d had a fair enough pre-season to put us in a positive position.

“I thought it would be a good time to get the players together, but we keep business as business as always. That’s the most important thing.

“It allows us to spend a bit more time together socially and we’re in warmer weather.

“Our consistency of training and preparation has been the same. Nothing has really changed.

“We’ve had great facilities to use and everything has gone well so far.”

Around their work, there has been time for the players to relax and decompress following the first 14 games of their season, with a hectic few weeks coming up with important Super League games and, of course, the Wembley final against Wigan Warriors in just over a fortnight.

Burgess has already shown he is not afraid to do things differently in terms of preparation – he flew the team out to France three days before the Round One game in Perpignan when in recent years, they have flown in and out on the day of the game.

“We’ve got the beach here, with the ocean and some nice sand – there’s not much of that in Warrington,” he said, lifting the lid on what the squad have been up to this week.

“It’s a great opportunity in the middle of the year to give the guys a different environment.

“It’s a very long year, so I just felt it’s a good time for us to get away and get some training done in a different climate.

“Then for our down time, we’ve got access to things like pools and the beach, the boys can walk out and get a coffee together, we’ve made sure they’ve got the right food and things like that.

“Our physios are out here – we’re a third of the way through the year and the boys are busted so it’s all hands on deck getting guys as much physio and treatment as they need.

“It's been pretty relaxed – a few of the guys have been playing cards, there’s pool tables and table tennis tables and things like that.

“We eat together, we’ve had a few meetings around that but it’s been very low-key socially.

“We had a penalty shoot-out for who buys the ice creams after dinner. The Aussies struggled – I wouldn’t say they’re naturally brilliant at football.

“Stef Ratchford fancies himself as a footballer, Joe Bullock too. I’m average at best!”