Bulls coach Francis Cummins has revealed his squad will train for six days a week between now and Christmas.

The players began their pre-season campaign on Monday and will be put through a tough training schedule in the coming weeks.

Last year saw the Bulls spend two days at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, where they undertook a series of team-building exercises over 36 hours.

The group were sent out into woods for survival training where tasks included evading the enemy, forcing them to work together through the night under severe pressure with little food, water or shelter.

The camp, which concluded with a nine-mile run, severely tested the mental strength of the players but Cummins said: “You can only do one of them once in a while.

“We may do a training camp after Christmas but it would be a skills-based camp.

“It wouldn’t be what we did before but we’re going to be training for six days a week until Christmas, so it’s going to be tough.

“Part of that is about recovering together as well. We’ve got to do it the right way and we’ve got some really good, highly-qualified people working for us and guiding us on aspects such as nutrition.

“We can tap into those skills and benefit from it, so we will be doing some things this year that we didn’t last year.”

Cummins said his men have hit the ground running after returning for pre-season training on Monday following initial tests last week.

“They came back for tests and were all in good shape,” said the Bulls boss.

“They all got stuck in to pre-season on Monday and their attitude has been very good. They look in good spirits and are training really well.”