AJ MacGinty

Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears.

AJ MacGinty
Birth nameAlan León MacGinty
Date of birth (1990-02-26) 26 February 1990
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
SchoolBlackrock College
UniversityLife University
Notable relative(s)Dave Gannon (cousin)
George Norton (grandfather)
Alan MacGinty Snr - principal of Blackrock College (father)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Current team Bristol Bears
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011
2012–2015		 NYAC
Life Running Eagles		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–2016
2016–2022
2022–		 Connacht
Sale Sharks
Bristol Bears		 16
107
24		 (64)
(878)
(140)
Correct as of 19 June 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015– United States 35 (354)
Correct as of 19 November 2022

Early life

A graduate of Blackrock College, MacGinty played with the Blackrock College RFC academy before moving to New York on a visa where he began playing with NYAC.[1] In 2012 MacGinty moved to Marietta, Georgia, where he began a master's degree in Sport Health Science and excelled on the rugby pitch at out-half for the Life Running Eagles.[1]

Club career

Connacht

Following his participation in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, MacGinty was signed by Connacht for the 2015–16 Pro12 season. Connacht head coach Pat Lam said the province had been following MacGinty since the Pacific Nations Cup earlier in the year.[2] MacGinty made his domestic debut for Connacht appearing off the bench in their 33–19 win over Benetton Treviso on 6 November 2015.[3] MacGinty made his European debut on 14 November 2015 in the first match of the 2015–16 Challenge Cup, starting at fly-half and scoring nine points.[4] MacGinty led Connacht to a 28–23 bonus point win over Edinburgh in March 2016 and "controlled matters expertly" to manage Connacht's fifth consecutive win and maintain first place in the Pro12.[5]

He was pivotal in Connacht's Pro12 final win securing the team's first ever silverware.

Sale Sharks

In May 2016 it was announced that MacGinty would join English Premiership side Sale Sharks when his deal with Connacht finished in the summer, with South African-capped Marnitz Boshoff taking his place at the province. MacGinty was signed as a replacement for outgoing England international Danny Cipriani.[6]

Bristol Bears

On 10 November 2021 it was announced that MacGinty would be joining Bristol Bears at the end of the 21/22 season.[7]

International career

Having qualified through residency rules, MacGinty made his debut for the United States in July 2015 against Samoa during the Pacific Nations Cup.[8] In the U.S. team's last match of the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup against Canada, MacGinty scored all of the team's points, including a last minute drop goal, to win the match 15–13.[9] MacGinty was the U.S. team's leading scorer throughout the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup, scoring 44 points in three matches.

Following his performances in the Nations Cup, MacGinty was named in the American squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[10] He featured in three of the team's four games, starting in each of his appearances and scoring 25 points.[2]

International tries
As of 19 November 2021 [11]
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Germany Wiesbaden, Germany BRITA-Arena 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals 18 November 2017 Win 17 – 46
2  Chile Maipu, Chile Estadio Santiago Bueras 2019 Americas Rugby Championship 2 February 2019 Win 8 – 71
3
4
5  Samoa Suva, Fiji ANZ National Stadium 2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup 3 August 2019 Win 13 – 10

See also

References
  1. "Dublin native MacGinty makes USA debut at out-half against Samoa". The42. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. "Connacht have signed Irish-born USA out-half AJ MacGinty". The42. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  3. "Henshaw among the tries as Connacht move to the top of the table". The42. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. "REPORT: Connacht get there in the end" Archived 2018-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, 14 November 2015.
  5. "Connacht claim Edinburgh win bonus to go six points clear", The Irish Times, Alan Lorimer, 5 March 2016.
  6. "Connacht's AJ MacGinty to replace Danny Cipriani at Sale". The42. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. "AJ Macginty to leave Sale Sharks at the end of the season". Sale Sharks. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. "MacGinty Critiques His Eagle Debut", Goff Rugby Report, Jackie Finlan, 19 July 2015.
  9. "MacGinty Saves USA from Canada", Americas Rugby News, August 2015.
  10. "Rugby World Cup 2015 squad announced". USA Rugby. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  11. "AJ MacGinty". 19 November 2021.
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