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'Huge admirer' Lam reunited with MacGinty as Bristol sign Sale 10
Bristol boss Pat Lam has finally been reunited with AJ MacGinty, the Sale player he had unsuccessfully tried to sign previously in the Gallagher Premiership. It was Lam who accelerated the Dubliner’s career, signing the American international to play for Connacht in their PRO12 title-winning season in 2015/16. Tight restrictions governing the number of non-Ireland eligible players playing for the Irish provinces meant that Lam couldn’t keep MacGinty on at Connacht following their magical win over Leinster in the final played at Murrayfield.
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That resulted in Lam striking a deal that saw MacGinty move to Sale for the 2016/17 season. The ex-Samoan international subsequently left Connacht himself in 2017 and he openly said last May how he had attempted on a number of occasions to recruit MacGinty for the Bears.
He was unsuccessful with those attempts but he has now finally landed the 31-year-old out-half for the 2022/23 season. MacGinty has so far made 93 appearances for Sale, racking up 801 points since his arrival there from Ireland.
In May, Lam had told RugbyPass: “I had him in Connacht and we had to let him go and I rang a few Premiership clubs about finding AJ a spot. I spoke to about four or five of them and Dimes [Steve Diamond] was the first one to take him up. At different times I have tried to get him back but he has settled nicely and Sale are doing a great job. They have got a really good spine and Faf (de Klerk) and AJ certainly run the show.”
Six months later, Lam was singing a very different tune having finally signed the player he last worked with more than five years ago. “With our ambition of being one of the top clubs in Europe, I have always said depth and quality in each position is vital. Our expectation is that Callum (Sheedy) will continue to develop into an established international and be away with Wales for periods of each season, so it’s important to have world-class experience in the fly-half position.
? Attacking flair
??? Game management
? World Class goal-kicker
?? Defensive rock?? ???????? does it all ? pic.twitter.com/OH0ZaeZE3i
— Bristol Bears ? (@BristolBears) November 10, 2021
“While we have some very good youngsters coming through, as everyone knows, this is a critical position for the team, so we are pleased to bring in somebody of AJ’s experience and calibre. It’s no secret having worked closely with AJ before, that I’m a huge admirer of the qualities that he brings to a team on and off the field.
“I have kept an eye on his progress since helping him move to Sale from Connacht in 2016 and there has always been an ambition to work with him again if the opportunity arose. His game management, defensive qualities, kicking ability and all-round understanding of the way I like our teams to play is excellent.”
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MacGinty added: “It was a difficult decision for me to leave Sale but Bristol are a hugely ambitious club and their progression under Pat has been very impressive. He gave me my first opportunity in professional rugby (at Connacht) and I am excited to work with him again.
“Sale will always hold a special place in my heart. I have made some great friendships here that will outlast my rugby career. I would like to thank the owners, coaches, players, staff and fans for their support throughout my time to date. I am fully focussed on finishing the season as strongly as possible.”
"I rang a few Premiership clubs about finding AJ a spot. I spoke to about four or five of them…"
https://t.co/IKh19f5Z9R— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 25, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments