Players from the British and Irish lions squad say their training camp in Jersey is a great way to prepare for their tour to South Africa.

As well as training they have used the island's beaches and golf courses.

"Training's intense, but Jersey has a lot to offer in terms of switching away from rugby as well," said Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw.

"It's a great feeling to get out here and be in a nice warm climate, having been at home for the year, so it's a nice change of environment," he told BBC Radio Jersey.

As well as using the facilities at Jersey Reds - the island's Championship rugby club - the Lions are also one of the first groups to make use of a state-of-the-art training facility next door, which will also host the England netball team and Leicester Tigers later this summer.

"The facilities are outstanding," said Wales wing Josh Adams - who twice came to the island to play Jersey Reds when he was with Worcester.

"The gym is brand new, it's a fantastic high-performance centre and we're very grateful to have something like that available to us to be able to use.

"The groundsman at Jersey has done an unbelievable job because the pitch is looking fantastic."

'Ultimately it's about working hard'

The tour is being played out in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It means the Lions players have to keep within their squad bubble and are unable to involve themselves in the community as much as they would like - despite the crowd that was there to welcome them when they arrived at their St Helier hotel.

"Ultimately it's about working hard because we're going out there to win a Test series and it is a big challenge - South Africa are a great outfit, so we've got to know that that's the priority," Scotland's Chris Harris told BBC Radio Jersey.

"We're so grateful that Jersey have allowed us to do this, because if we were back in the UK there'd be a lot more restrictions around it.

"We are a lot more free here, we're still within our bubble, but it's a great opportunity to create those bonds and those friendships in our off days."