Montpellier might still be reeling from being upset by Castres in the French Top 14 Final, but a return to camp hasn’t been about recriminations.

Instead, the squad that finished at the top of the standings, but lost the final to the #6 team, spent part of this week in Sainte-Enimie, about two hours north of the club’s hometown and on the banks of the Tarn river which runs through the Cevennes Mountains. It’s a perfect place for some hikes, and kayaking, and taking in the beauty of South-Central France.

The players also got to traverse along the face of one of the cliffs, holding onto a tiny rope and shuffling about 100 meters high above the ground.

So a little fun, a little fear, and maybe some work, too. The players started it all with a hike into the mountains and also handled a run-bike race won by Joris Jurand, Valentin Paget, and Johan Goosen. It’s the young guys who were able to handle the altitude and rebounding from the previous season. Jurand and Paget are 22 and 21, respectively. Goosen supervised the team and at 25 is the oldest.

The South African is also an odd story. He walked away from a lucrative contract with Racing 92 in 2016, opting instead to work at a stud farm in South Africa. He quickly realized that it wasn’t rugby he was walking away from, but living in a big city.

“I am South African, I need space and, in the suburbs of Paris, the buildings are so close to each other that I felt like I was choking,” Goosen told The Citizen in South Africa. “I had the uncomfortable feeling of living in a box.”

But eventually Racing made a deal with Montpellier for Goosen’s rights, and the player had some time to clear his head and regret the way we left Racing. Now he’s back, likely to endure some jabs from fans along the way, and trying to make the club. Winning a race in the mountains won’t hurt.