Lions 2013: Jamie Roberts aware of Barbarians match 'risks' as 90 per cent humidity is forecast for Hong Kong "Training has been tough and we have trained at an intensity to make it tough," said Roberts. It is going to be the same for both teams, in conditions which a lot of the players in both camps will not have been used to. It is very demanding on the body. Water breaks are quite important for the health and safety of the players but also to ensure the quality of rugby makes it the spectacle that it deserves to be. It is very unique training in these conditions. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, they are potential risks and overheating as well. Those breaks will be very important. When asked about the inherent risks of playing in such conditions, Roberts pointed to the fact that the Hong Kong Sevens are staged here every year and that there "are risks every time you play rugby." He added: "These conditions are going to be quite alien to the players. If the water breaks aren't there, there is a potential risk for the game to become a bit of a slog and the players to get quite tired. While some have questioned the wisdom of playing the opening game of a 10-match tour in such extreme conditions, Adam Beard, the Lions" head of strength and conditioning, says there could be long-term benefits for the squad's fitness from the experience, when it departs for Perth on Sunday night for the game against Western Force next Wednesday. "Many professional football and Australian football teams are using heat stress, such as our preparation time in Hong Kong, for similar gains to that of training at altitude, with the latest research showing these adaptations occurring in a much shorter time-span," said Beard. We use individual hydration strategies along with systematic hydration-testing, ice vests to cool the core temperature and cooling fans, and feel that the heat will give us a physiological benefit come the Australian East Coast part of the campaign, which is what we are aiming at. The unexpectedly high humidity has been caused in part by heavy rainfall over the past two weeks, which has also had a detrimental impact on the playing surface at the Hong Kong Stadium. Lions assistant coach Andy Farrell on Thursday revealed that the management had decided not to hold the traditional captain's run-practice at the ground to preserve the pitch. Only the place-kickers went to the ground, while the squad trained at Aberdeen Stadium, where they have been based all week. "The players have brought their long studs," said Farrell, when asked if there were any concerns about scrummaging on the surface. During the previous two Test matches at the ground, between New Zealand and Australia in 2008 and 2010, players struggled to gain purchase on the pitch. They have not been training in them much over the last couple of days but apparently it has been really wet. We had the choice of training there today but we chose not to because we want the pitch in a good state.