Alan León MacGinty (; born 26 February 1990), known as AJ (), is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears. Born in Ireland, he represents the United States national team.
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 under head coach of THE AC Bruce McLane. 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.
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. MacGinty made his domestic debut for Connacht appearing off the bench in their 33–19 win over Benetton Treviso on 6 November 2015. 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."REPORT: Connacht get there in the end" , 14 November 2015. 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."Connacht claim Edinburgh win bonus to go six points clear", The Irish Times, Alan Lorimer, 5 March 2016.
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 n-capped Marnitz Boshoff taking his place at the province. MacGinty was signed as a replacement for outgoing international Danny Cipriani.
Bristol Bears On 10 November 2021 it was announced that MacGinty would be joining Bristol Bears at the end of the 21/22 season.
International career Having qualified through residency rules, MacGinty made his debut for the in July 2015 against during the Pacific Nations Cup."MacGinty Critiques His Eagle Debut", Goff Rugby Report, Jackie Finlan, 19 July 2015. In the U.S. team's last match of the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup against , MacGinty scored all of the team's points, including a last minute drop goal, to win the match 15–13."MacGinty Saves USA from Canada", Americas Rugby News, August 2015. 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. He featured in three of the team's four games, starting in each of his appearances and scoring 25 points.
International tries
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore1Wiesbaden, GermanyBRITA-Arena2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals18 November 2017Win17 – 46 2 Maipu, ChileEstadio Santiago Bueras 2019 Americas Rugby Championship 2 February 2019 Win 8 – 71 3 4 5Suva, FijiANZ National Stadium2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup3 August 2019Win13 – 10 6Chicago, IllinoisSeatGeek Stadium2024 mid-year rugby union tests6 July 2024Loss20 – 22
See also Rugby union in the United States
References