"For this tour to Japan, DHL would have transported 10 silver trunks of equipment and gear to the hotel in Osaka, our first base, prior to our arrival. Ann McSweeney back in the IRFU does a superb job in pre-packing those cases.
"That would include Ice coolers, kicking net, balls, flags, cones, match kit, spare kit, training gear, walkie-talkies, three containers of snack food with other dietary requirement, presentation requirements for post match functions, ties, pins etc and two trunks containing medical equipment.
"We would have taken with us 100 pieces of players' baggage. When we were changing hotels from Osaka to Tokyo everything had to be repacked and loaded onto a truck for a nine hour journey by road. The baggage is colour coded.
"Every piece belonging to the medical team has a blue sticker, video analyst Mervyn Murphy's has a red badge while mine has green.
"When they arrive at the new hotel they are then sent to the appropriate rooms. The lads have a tour number and a rooming list is furnished so that the hotel knows where to send the gear, the specific room. The kit room is always beside my bedroom.
"On a daily basis I'd get up at 7.0am and check the laundry has come back from the previous day obviously helped by my 'laundry committee.' I'd then grab breakfast and set out the requirements for a pm training session.
"I'd check the snack room along with our fitness advisor Mike McGurn and that might then entail a visit to the supermarket to stock up. Three or four days a week I'd sit in on the management meeting. Loading the bus follows lunch. I could not do this or anything for that matter without the help of the players.
"On arriving at the venue for training the immediate requirements like balls and cones would be offloaded. Waiting for us at the ground would be our tackle shields/bags and body suits as well as the scrum machine. We have a starting time for every session so things must be ready. I'd then go back to the bus to get bits and bobs.
"You bring shower gear for the players, towels, shampoo and soap a 100 times to training but it'll be used only once. Back at the hotel it's time to unload the bus, clean out ice buckets and start rounding up the dirty laundry prior to a 6.0pm collection.
"After dinner the priority is the completion of the following day's schedule. This represents going to the manager and all the coaching team to check on what the require, put it in a running order and get a draft copy typed up. It then goes back for the manager and coach's approval before being printed. Everyone of the travelling party gets a copy.
"Time to check the snack room again and possibly make another trip to the supermarket to replenish stocks. There's always other little bits and pieces to be done but it really is a labour of love."
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