Sale Sharks lock in AJ McGinty's long term future

Sale Sharks’ long-term ambitions have received another major shot in the arm with the news that influential fly-half AJ MacGinty has signed a new four-year contract with the club.

The Irish-born American international playmaker has produced some of the best rugby of his career for the Sharks this season, establishing himself as one of the Premiership’s most formidable fly-halves.

Though currently sidelined with a knee injury, AJ is set to make a welcome return to action shortly.

And following news of a new deal for Denny Solomona and with several other contract renewals in the pipeline for a number of key players, confirmation that AJ is to extend his stay with the Sharks for another four years is yet further demonstration of the club’s determination to achieve success.

The 28-year-old was a graduate of Blackrock College in Dublin and played with the College’s academy side before moving to America to study for a Masters degree in Sport Health Science where he played for Life Rugby Eagles.

The fly-half was then selected for the USA team for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and impressed in all three of the Eagles' group games, kicking 25 points.

That fine form earned AJ a move back to Ireland to join Guinness PRO12 team Connacht for whom he made 16 appearances in a memorable 2015/16 season.

His reliable boot and playmaking ability helped the province complete a dream campaign as they won the PRO12 title for the first time in their history with a 20-10 triumph over Leinster.

AJ subsequently made the switch to Sale in the summer of 2016 and he has since demonstrated what a class act he is with his laser-like accuracy with the boot, superb game-management skills and formidable defensive ability.

Just shy of 200 career points for the Sharks to date, AJ’s qualities were further emphasised earlier this week by official statistics released by Premiership Rugby which revealed he is the most accurate kicker in the competition’s history.

Of all the kickers that have taken more than 75 shots at goal, MacGinty is the only player to have a kick-success percentage of more than 85 per cent. Of 90 attempts at goal to date, AJ has missed just 12, giving him a success rate of 86.67 per cent.

Following confirmation of his new contract, AJ said: “I am delighted to commit my long-term future to Sale Sharks.

“The vision the owners and coaches have for the club make Sale an exciting place to be in the coming years and with the strong group of players and young prospects committed to the club, I am confident we can challenge for honours in future seasons.

“I have enjoyed my time at the club so far and believe that while I have improved as a player in my time here, with particular thanks to Deacs and Jon Callard, my best rugby in a Sale jersey is in front of me.

“I would also like to thank all Sale Sharks supporters who have been brilliant with me from day one and I look forward to getting back on the pitch in the coming weeks."

Commenting on AJ’s new deal, Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “The figures released earlier this week which revealed that AJ is the most accurate kicker in Premiership history just underline what a top player he is.

“AJ's attention to detail is second to none. He started his professional rugby career at an older age than many but he shows all the maturity and skill-sets that anyone could wish for and he has been and will continue to be a fantastic player for us.

“He’s a great lad to have around. He's very modest and keeps his head down but he’s hugely popular with all the staff and our supporters. He’s also able to put his point across at team meetings and with the coaches and he’s not one of those players who just sits on the fence.

“He’s such a dedicated lad and he ticks every box that we want and so much more so I’m really delighted that he’s signed the new deal with us.”