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18th February 2019
02:39pm GMT

(Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"It was good to get back," said Marmion. "Good to get 25 minutes under the belt and great to get back out on the pitch. The lungs were a bit sore afterwards but I was kind of expecting that."
Ireland assemble at Carton House ahead of round three of the championship on Monday evening and that squad will be confirmed on Tuesday morning. Many expected Marmion to be included, especially as he started the November wins over Argentina and New Zealand. However, the No.9 said:
"Connacht have Glasgow up next and the next few games will be key in terms of where we end up this season. It's a big block for us. We're away to Glasgow and that is a game we'll target. They'll be missing a good portion of their squad to the Six Nations and that is a game we lost by just a point last season." He continued, "I'll probably get a bit of game-time with Connacht and, I guess, I've got to put in some good performances to get back in there [with Ireland]. This weekend, I'll be looking to get more minutes under my belt and and see how that goes. Hopefully, if I can perform well then I can put my hand up to get back in there."Marmion, then, looks to be on Connacht duty this weekend. He may be called up to Kildare for a training session but Schmidt is set to stick with Murray, Cooney and even Caolin Blade as his scrum-halves. The order of who starts and who covers from the bench, at Stadio Olimpico, is another matter.

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