Mike McCarthy’s head was melted sitting beside Sean O’Brien and Jack McGrath at a recent awards do.
“They were just talking about the Lions and all the kit they got,” the former Ireland international told The Hard Yards.
“They were just saying how much there was and had taken selfies of themselves with it. I felt like a spare part!”
The subject of Lions stash has been a hot topic for the past few weeks, with the Class of 2017 getting their fill of official team gear and formal wear ahead of the trip to New Zealand.
Fully loaded #stash https://t.co/nWv0UPXoqZ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 11, 2017
This is just a taste of what each and every Lions player got in their ‘Welcome Pack’:
Training jersey, shorts and socks, gym and fleece shorts, Polo t-shirts, full-zip hoody, fleece and slim-fit tracksuit bottoms, gilet, presentation jacket and trousers, beanie, cap, boot and gym bags, holdalls.
The most recent addition to the squad is England back-row James Haskell, who was called up after international teammate Billy Vunipola headed for shoulder surgery.
The Wasps man thought his Lions chance had gone but, at 32, he is set to wear that famous red jersey for the first time. The squad met up in London earlier this morning, ahead of their Monday flights to the southern hemisphere.
Haskell was suitably low-key when he got his mitts on the ‘J.H’ stash…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUpCEOYAw_y/
You may notice a nice surprise for Haskell down the bottom left of his Instagram post.
Each player has received a set of Sony MDR noise-reducing headphones worth around €200 and some other electronic kit that includes personalised computer tablets to help them analyse upcoming opponents and set-plays.
It’s not a bad old life, being a Lion.
