Marshall, still learning his craft after his high-profile switch from Wests Tigers and rugby league last year, can hardly see what the fuss is about.
The 28-year-old has, though, bought 40 tickets for friends (including his league mates) and family for the Allianz Stadium on Friday night to watch what will be his second match for the Blues, albeit a pre-season one. The crowd for the hit-out against a Waratahs team including Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau is expected to top 30,000.
"It will be alright, I lived there for 14 years so I've still got a lot of friends and family there," was Marshall's response to his impending return.
"I'm looking forward to it. I've still got my mum and little brother living over there so I've got 40 or 50 coming to the game and it will be good to see them."
As a former Kiwis captain who is used to the glare of the spotlight, he is likely to take it all in his stride. Coach John Kirwan, referring to Marshall as a "big-match player" certainly thinks so.
"He loves it, he probably enjoys it more than shys away from it," Kirwan said. "They tell me there's [going to be] 30,000 people there and that's what we want, that's why we play, I'd say he'll enjoy it more than worry about it."
Kirwan will name his team today (WEDNESDAY), but Marshall, who played 40 minutes in the Blues' close loss to the Hurricanes at Masterton last weekend, let slip that he will play at first-five for at least the first half.
"He'll be out there for a long period of time," Kirwan said. "I think it's important that he gets a feel for it under pressure so he'll definitely spending a lot of time out there."
Other options for No10 on Friday night are Chris Noakes, back from a long-term neck problem, and Baden Kerr, who left the Memorial Ground last weekend after a head knock and blows to the shoulder and hand.
Marshall's backline colleagues will include All Blacks Charles Piutau, Francis Saili and Frank Halai, all of whom are likely to play the final 20 minutes.
"It's still a bit of a blur. It just happened so fast," Marshall said of his first hit-out.
"One of the problems on the weekend was understanding that sometimes lineouts happen a bit faster than you expect, and getting that call out to the backs.
"I'm a lot more relaxed than I was last week, put it that way. Just getting that game out of the way and letting the nerves settle a bit.
"This week I feel a lot more comfortable, even in my role during training. There's still going to be nerves there. It's my second game, I still haven't played a full game yet.
"It's just another game, it's a warm-up game in my eyes. It's about learning what I need to do at 10, not trying to win the game or impress anybody."
The Blues have signed former Highlanders, Hurricanes and Chiefs lock Hayden Triggs, currently playing in Japan for the Honda Heat, as Culum Retallick's replacement. However, they have suffered another second-row blow with the news Tom Murday could be out for up to 10 weeks with a knee injury.
-By Patrick McKendry of APNZ
