Kieran Marmion left out of Schmidt’s plans as Ireland prepare to exploit French defence

After he was left on the bench for the duration of Sunday's draw against Wales, Kieran Marmion won't even have that level of involvement in Ireland's Six Nations trip to France.

The scrum-half has been released back to Connacht for the weekend along with Ultan Dillane and Finlay Bealham and

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It’s been a rest day for the Irish squad, with the players returning to the camp in Carton House tonight before they hold a full-contact training session tomorrow when Joe Schmidt will finalise his team.

Dave Kearney is expected to start on the wing in place of Keith Earls this weekend and the Leinster man was asked about the French defending last weekend against Italy, which appeared to be noticeably less aggressive than in previous seasons.

“I think the Italians did it pretty well last weekend,” said Kearney.

“The French were a bit softer that they usually are, especially outside the 22 they were probably letting the Italians attack too much.

“Guys like (Michele) Campagnaro got on the outside a couple of times and stretched them out wide.

“It’s definitely something that we’ve looked at this week and hopefully that space opens up for us again this weekend.”