Ceremony... Haskell on new boys have fitted in

when you put on that red shirt, you left nothing in the tank. I expect those boys to come off the bench with a bang.”

Haskell, who starts on the blindside against the Chiefs, was himself an addition to the original tour squad, being drafted in as a replacement when Billy Vunipola pulled out through injury.

“It feels amazing to be part of it. It’s very exciting,” he said.

“New Zealand is a very special place where everybody lives and breathes rugby, so if you are going to go on a Lions tour, New Zealand is the one to get on.

“In terms of enjoyment, it’s been great. We’ve spent so much time in different places, getting little bits of different culture which has been fantastic.”

As for the spirit with the camp, he said: “Sometimes when you are involved in teams they talk about the squad and it can be a bit of lip service, but on this tour it really is about that.

“We have trained together the entire time, we have lived and breathed everything, the disappointments, the successes together.

“It’s like a giant family and everyone is pulling in the right direction.

“We’ve got little committees and things like joke of the day, fact of the day, that kind of stuff. Guys are getting up on the bus and doing their party pieces. All that kind of feel-good is there.” And what’s your party piece James? “I’ve got too many mate! I am a little bit of a story teller personally.

“I am also on fact of the day with Dan Cole. He delivers the facts in the driest manner possible, but also in a very humorous way. So he is leading the way on that.

“Sean O’Brien has made his way to the front of the bus a few times, but quickly been thrown to the back of the bus.

“I’ve been sharing a room with Sean all tour and we’ve bonded, to say the least.

“If I was playing against any of the other back rowers on this trip, it’s probably Sean or Peter O’Mahony that I’d be slightly concerned about.

“Not necessarily because of the physical thing – but because they are completely mental!

“I’d be worried if I took them on what might happen to me in the car park later on!”

Following defeats for the midweek team in their first two matches, Haskell says there is a determination to make it third time lucky against the Chiefs.

“If we look at the Blues and Highlanders games, did we deliver, did we have control, the answer is probably not, did we learn from it yes,” he said.

“The Chiefs are going to run it from everywhere, take their quick throws, we just play our game with intensity and energy and the result will go our way.

“It’s important we put everything out there against the Chiefs to make sure the boys go into the Test match with another win and real positivity.

“Every time you put on that Lions shirt you have to leave it in a better place than you found it. You have to put everything out there.

“There is no point trying to save yourself.

“You have to run yourself into the ground every single game.”