Mine was the same there was absolutely no way it would fit in the hole
I had to open up the hole slightly until it would go in, dont over do it though as it needs to be tight, i didnt need to take much out before it would go in.
I think there must be some differences in the rubbers people have as the scenario i just described was with the doner sierra parts, but when i got a replacement bush set from saturn the hole was a little large for the new rubber so i had to use the old rubber with the new bushes,there is absolutely no play in the column whatsoever now so was ok in the end.