Given the amount of Lions kit we have each been supplied with, it didn't surprise me that the jumbo jet taking us to South Africa was delayed leaving Heathrow while they made sure everything was in the right place in the hold.

The kit took up half the space in the room I shared with Ireland's Keith Earls at our hotel last week. I love the "stash" you get for a tour but for the first time in my career I actually thought, "I have got too much stuff here".

Normally, it would be a case of the more the merrier and the fact that so many family members, friends and charities would like something from the tour kit means I have to put a lot of thought into it.

I brought everything they gave us with me and will divide it up when I come back. I hope I don't sound ungrateful for all of this great branded gear but I am such a terrible packer that the idea of getting all of it into three bags plus some of my own "ordinary" clothes fazed me completely.

I have had some surprising requests for souvenir kit including one from the father of a girlfriend I had when I was 17, who went onto my Facebook site and asked if he could have a Test match jersey if I made the team. The answer was a very quick "No". If I was fortunate enough to win a Test jersey, I wouldn't give it away to anyone.

A few of the Welsh and Irish guys shipped some of their kit home before we left but getting mine here has been quite an operation. I had to keep each bag under the 23kg limit and with seven weeks carrying it around South Africa - there is also a massive suit carrier plus the three bags - effectively, I am taking my house around the country. With four nations to honour, there has to be a lot of kit with the green of Ireland, red of Wales, white of England and blue of Scotland which means there are two of each kind of jersey.

There are eight kinds of training jerseys, shorts, socks and even swimming stuff. It is all coordinated and I have to get it right every day because we do have certain colours on certain days and I don't want to upset anyone from any of the countries by turning up in the wrong kit.

Keith is a very easy room-mate. We didn't know much about each other and I did make a bit of a gaffe when I said he must be about to head off to Edinburgh for the Heineken Cup Final. He quickly pointed out that he was from Munster and they had lost to Leinster in the semi-finals. That broke the ice and we got on really well.

Losing Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery in training affected everyone because it was so close to our departure. He was in agony and knew straight away that it wasn't good. It was a horrible thing to happen but brought everyone closer together because you realise how fortunate you are to be on the trip.

That elbow injury apart, the atmosphere was really uplifting and I have made so many friends in such a short space of time having only known many of the guys through mutual friends before our training week. I have been so pleasantly surprised and, while I love the special team spirit we have at Quins, I do see a lot of that same spirit in this Lions squad already.

It's a real testament to the players in this Lions squad who have gone out of their way to have a chat and make you feel comfortable and there haven't been any egos at all. Some of the guys spent last Thursday golfing, going to the horse racing or clay pigeon shooting and I chilled out and caught up with some friends and then the squad had a barbecue the following night.

It has been a lot of fun although now we are here in South Africa, we are all desperate to get the tour off to a winning start on Saturday. We were given a fantastic reception on arrival with choirs and dancers making it a day to remember and I was glad to have got seven hours' sleep on the plane so I could enjoy the occasion.

I am the only black player in the tour party and recently I watched a DVD of the 1974 Lions tour to South Africa which featured anti-aparthied protests and a lot of controversy and I feel very fortunate to be visiting the country now that everything has changed so much. I am very proud to be a black player in a Lions jersey.