Scottish lock Nathan Hines admits the novelty of being selected for the British & Irish Lions has worn off as the serious work starts to begin.

The last week have been devoted to team bonding and 32-year-old Hines has roomed with both Welsh flanker Martyn Williams and English hooker Lee Mears.

But with the Lions' first tour match against Royal XV fast approaching this weekend, Hines maintains the time for jokes is over.

He said: "The laughs and the bonding are important, because in rugby you have to be able to trust your team-mates, and be prepared to go a long way for them, and that's why the most successful teams tend to be ones that have been together for a long time.

"We don't have time, so we've had to come together quickly, but now everybody just wants to get on the field.

"The excitement of being selected for the tour has gone now to be honest; it's all about being selected to play, to put your body on the line for the Lions and to win in a Lions jersey. Then it's about winning a Test series in South Africa.

"I've come close to winning here with Scotland, but not done it yet, so I'm pretty determined to make sure I don't leave this time without knowing what it feels like to beat the Springboks on their own soil."