As the vast majority of us sit back, relax and tuck into a vast array of food, the Hurricanes squad will be doing the opposite.

While they are officially on leave for a fortnight after they’ve completed the annual Surf to Peak endurance test, the players still have to maintain their training regime and watch what they eat.

Every player has received an email outlining their individual weights programme, the speed and conditioning workouts as well as a reminder of what foods to keep in moderation.

According to the man in charge of physical performance at the Hurricanes, David Gray, the players are left under no illusions of what is expected of them over their two week break period after being addressed by head coach John Plumtree about the positives of the Christmas break and the potential dangers of the period.

“Basically over that two week period they have both weekends free, as well as Christmas Day and New Year’s Day,” Gray said.

“On the other days they will have to train, sometimes once a day, sometimes twice a day. The expectation is they follow that plan no matter where they are. If they are travelling away they have to find a gym and find some grass to run on.”

While the temptation might be there for some to slacken off knowing they are away from the watchful eyes of the club’s trainers and coaching staff, Gray said it would show up when they returned to work.

That is because all the players have been physically tested and weighed and had their skin folds updated.

“They also have their targets they have to obtain and they will be tested again on January 7 when they return. If they don’t meet those targets then there will be a price to pay.”

Gray fully understands the challenges the players will face over the break as work goes out of the minds of so many.

“Their best mates are going to be on holiday and not worried at all about training so our guys just have to keep in their minds that they do. It’s a serious time of the year in regards to preparation and if we get it wrong we will be chasing our tails.

“The players either get better or they are worse. There is no standing still because we know our competitors will be getting better.

“We can’t obviously follow the players around but if we’re serious about what we want to achieve this year they will come back better.”

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