When Joe Schmidt culled his squad yesterday, Noel Reid and Rob Herring were sent back to Leinster and Ulster respectively. The message yesterday was that Schmidt is looking to cut players on an ongoing basis back in to boost their provinces.
It appears that another name has returned to his province after Connacht announced their 30-man squad that is leaving for a week-long camp in France. The squad includes Denis Buckley - who had been a quiet call-up after the original 45-man Ireland squad was announced. But Buckley isn't the most eye-catching name in the squad.
Kieran Marmion is one of two scrumhalves in Connacht's travelling party - along with John Cooney. Marmion's inclusion is asterisked with "Kieran Marmion has been temporarily released from the Ireland training camp this week in order to amass some game time with Connacht.
It's not clear whether Marmion will be returning to the Ireland squad next week or not - who would be left with just three scrumhalves. It's interesting to note that another quiet call-up - Nathan White - who was included in Connacht's pre-season game against Grenoble last Friday was back at Ireland training yesterday and isn't included in Pat Lam's squad.
The squad also features new signings Api Pewharangi, Ben Marshall and Nepia Fox-Matamua. Connacht fans should also get excited about third-year academy centre Rory Parata who will be turning 21 this Friday who is one of three academy players included in the squad with James Connolly and Shane Delahunt.
See Also: Joe Schmidt Cuts First Players From World Cup Training Squad
See Also: Players Who Could Be Cut From Ireland's Training Squad This Week
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
