Stade Francais back-row James Haskell has revealed that the Parisians prepared for Sunday's Heineken Cup quarter-final showdown with French rivals Toulouse with a day at a police SWAT camp.
The England international explained that the team-bonding exercise, arranged in the wake of Stade's 29-0 Top 14 defeat by Toulouse last month, had been a gruelling but thoroughly worthwhile experience.
"We were driven to the SWAT camp outside Paris, split into teams. I was asked to lead a team of five Stade players, and handed Glock 17 rifles and riot shields," Haskell told the Daily Mail.
"Our first task was close combat, where we stormed a building to take out three armed robbers. Simon Taylor, the Scotland back row, was on my team and suggested negotiation - but we were under strict orders to shoot to kill.
"Mirco Bergamasco, the Italy winger, got covered in powder after a fake grenade exploded at his feet, but we managed to kill two robbers and one prisoner.
"Then it was on to the police dogs. Two of us wore arm protectors and got attacked by a huge German Shepherd before we hit an assault course, which was pretty tiring, especially as we had to carry colleagues on stretchers. The worst bit was being in a smoke-filled pit which caused a number of coughs and sore throats.
"Finally, we hit the shooting range where we used machine guns, shotguns and pistols to round off a great afternoon. As I have firearms licences and have always been into shooting, it was a perfect way to spend a day with my team-mates."