It was 1993 and I was in my final year at University. The Rugby club I was playing for was going on an end of season tour to New Zealand playing a handful of games over 18 days. No trophies at stake just an end of season jaunt to see out a memorable season.
We were scheduled to play, if I remember correctly, two games on the North Island and three on the South - Wellington , Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. It was spring and although cold, none of the first four games were particularly brutal affairs.