Roger the Rabbit I would suggest that there is a huge difference in the amount of time off that a top class athlete needs and what a desk bound pen pusher needs !
Given that just about every player carries some kind of injury during the season a break of several weeks might just about give them time to rest and get those niggles clear. 3 1/2 weeks seems a pretty short time to fully recover and be ready to get going again for another 48 weeks of physical exertion.
Not being a desk bound pen pusher I guess I missed that!
Some players/athletes need longer than others for their body to recover and I suspect most have experts who monitor and assess that. However, long that period is, I very much doubt that the sports scientists at RFC are daft enough to ramp training up to full intensity the moment they come back from their holidays.