Kieran Marmion ready to seize his opportunity

Kieran Marmion finished with a flourish against South Africa on Saturday but now the Ireland scrum-half is hoping he will get the chance to make a similar impact as a starter.

With the Ireland management saying they will send out a side to face Fiji this Saturday evening that is rejigged from the one that trounced the Springboks 38-3, Marmion’s impressive turn off the bench in the final 10 minutes of that game has put the Connacht man in prime position for a starting berth against the Tier Two islanders.

Marmion is no stranger to replacing the first-choice nine Conor Murray, having come off the bench for 13 of his 17 caps since his debut on the 2014 summer tour to Argentina. Yet the 25-year-old is increasingly making his presence felt and last Saturday against the South Africans he played a pivotal role as the Irish ran in three late tries to rack up a record-winning margin over the Boks.