I’ll be back on the road from Limerick to Dublin at the crack of dawn this morning. We’re not due to return to the team hotel in Killiney until late tonight but there’s a certain game in Croke Park this afternoon I plan to be at.

It will be weird to go to Croker as a punter. Weird and exciting at the same time. The last time I was there was for the England game in April when we got a police escort to the game across the East Link and then back up O’Connell Street afterwards. Now I’m thinking of traffic and how to avoid it. I’ve rung Mick Galwey for All-Ireland Sunday traffic tips. He goes to all the games and knows all the tricks.

What I’m really looking forward to is being a fan again, being on the other side of the fence, watching the players warm up, getting immersed in the whole atmosphere. Normally if I’m watching an Ireland or Munster match from the stand because of injury, I still have an intimate knowledge of every play because I’ve been in on all the preparation. This afternoon I’ll be in the middle of the crowd, roaring my head off. I think that’s cool.

It has been an incredibly busy week, on and off the training pitch. On Monday we had a visit from An Taoiseach, who came to the team hotel to wish us well. It was a big moment for Alan Quinlan, who has been rechristened Bertie after running a successful campaign to make the World Cup squad.

We had the real Bertie primed, of course. “Well, Bertie, how’s it going?” he says to Quinny when the two of them shake hands. He seemed very down to earth, drinking his cup of tea and cracking jokes with everyone. Last time myself and Quinny met him was at the launch of the new Thomond Park last year, when we presented him with a packet of Meanies and pulled a Munster jersey over his head for the photographers. There was none of that this time. We’d been told beforehand to be on our best behaviour. One of his minders also had a word, just to be sure.

Wednesday was particularly busy. We had team photos outside the hotel — first in our playing gear, then in suits — and mugshots taken for the match programmes. There was a formal lunch with our main sponsors O2, which was actually a bit of a laugh.

Donners dressed up as a chef to present a cake to birthday boys Paddy Wallace and Frankie Sheahan and tripped on his way across the floor. The cake went everywhere. It’s not the first time he’s fallen in public. He just gets a bit nervous and loses his balance.

Later that afternoon, we were issued with our World Cup kit. It was quite an operation. When I counted everything on the checklist it came to 60 items (and a pair of socks counts as one, not two). We have bags and jackets of all shapes and sizes, rain jackets and polarfleece hoodies, armourfit undergarments for hot and cold conditions, a whole load of socks, shorts, T-shirts and training tops, not to mention sandals and baseball caps. I think Denis Hickie was consulted for the formal wear, so it’s very trendy. Denis is cutting edge when it comes to the clobber.

There was even a pair of black Speedo swimming trunks for each player. My old friend Mike Prendergast, who played in Bourgoin, told me they were essential for all municipal pools in France. I just assumed Prendy was getting things mixed up again but it’s true. Seemingly for hygiene reasons, you’re not allowed to wear Bermudas or anything else that might have been worn outside. So we all have our little black Speedos for our recovery sessions.

This is typical of the level of detail in our preparation and it’s great to see. Nothing has been overlooked or left to chance. At the same time, knowing this brings pressure. There’s an extra onus to perform.

Sometimes the pressure can be intense. Last season, the build-up to those Six Nations games at Croke Park was incredible. Sometimes you feel: “God, why am I even doing this?” You’re sitting there at the pre-match meal trying to get spoonfuls of rice into your stomach when you’re so nervous that eating is the last thing you feel like doing. But we have to learn to deal with that pressure — not just deal with it but use it to make us perform.

The way we trained this week, you could sense the Ravenhill performance was in the back of everybody’s mind. It went well. We did an awful lot of ‘live’ scrums – that’s the benefit of having 16 forwards in situ, all fit and raring to go. The continuity stuff was fairly lively too. You’re trying to make sure that everyone gets to the world cup in one piece but you also need to make sure you get that hard work done or you can start picking up habits.