There is only one flight from Sydney to Johannesburg each day, along with one from Perth and one from Melbourne. So, when you also take into account airplane sponsor obligations, the options for getting 34-plus people into and out of South Africa are tight. Our dilemma occurred because our Brisbane to Sydney flight, which normally takes one and a half hours, turned into five hours due to the fog. After a couple of aborted landing attempts into Sydney, we were back on our way to the Gold Coast to refuel. We finally arrived in Sydney three hours later and with the expectation that our flight to Johannesburg would be gone. Thankfully, it waited because the reality was that finding seats on the same flight the next day would prove just as problematic. So, we take off and land late in Johannesburg only to have missed our flight to Bloemfontein. That means a night at the airport hotel, dinner at the airport's food court and an arrival into our final destination at lunchtime the following day. Murphy's law is always at play in these matters. Only small planes travel to Bloemfontein so only 30 people are allowed to get on the flight. This forced five staff members to stay behind, but then again it was one of those trips. In the interim we still needed to get on with the business of rugby so we held our game-plan meeting while still in transit before holding our first training session with only three of the nine staff members who travelled involved.

With the changes we only lost two pieces of baggage from the 1.5 tonnes we travel with. It's always a lottery to what pieces are left behind – this time it was an esky that never left Sydney and a large black coffin-like case with all our strapping tape and other physio supplies. The ripple effect here is that no one knows where the case is, and we aren't able to buy many of our sponsor-related products in South Africa, so are forced to make do until they can locate it, if they can at all. Jake Schatz also had the surprise to watch his new gear bag arrive on the baggage carousel torn to shreds. Clearly, it had been dragged some distance and had worn through such that his boots were gone and other things were missing. He smiled and the team laughed as there isn't much else you can do. Just another thing which goes on the fix-it list. This is but one example of what can happen that is accentuated by the nature of the tournament. In a perfect scenario, getting to and from South Africa to be able to play next weekend is complicated anyway. You get on planes directly after playing, which compromises recovery. You deal with the inevitable jetlag, and the impact of altitude can't be scientifically solved in the timeframe so it gets ignored. Once finalised, changing the travel schedules of teams is very complicated so the entire off-season is devoted to planning each travel sector and getting it right. This can only happen after the draw is finalised, and this also takes time because each team has to ascertain their stadium availability around others sports and major events. After a computer somewhere in Canada spits out the various competition combinations, of which there are very few, teams then begin factoring in their travel issues regarding turnaround times, bye weeks and long-haul considerations – such as South African teams having four weeks on the road.

Once these are worked through and the one-offs such as the Lions tour are locked away, the travel agents go to work with each team and nail down flights, hotel nights, number of meals, buses, vans and training venues just to name a few. They're responsible for the referees as well so it ends up as a brilliant but complicated plan that will work in theory but unfortunately reality is not always as kind. From a team point of view, the changes to a plan can become a distraction if you let it. Luckily, the Reds players have seen the funny side of it all and they have passed their test of character with flying colours. The players and staff have to adapt just like our travel agent does and the show must go on. We know it will always be all right on the night.