'Ten years ago I was living in New York and working in a bar'

Long-serving Sale out-half AJ MacGinty believes his time working in a noisy New York bar ten years ago will serve him well when he looks to cope with the distractions of playing at Racing 92’s atmospheric indoor stadium on Sunday. Much has been made in the build-up to the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final in Paris about how the arena in Paris is comparable to a disco. 

However, MacGinty reckons his long-ago stint behind the bar at the Pig N’ Whistle on 36th Street will now come in handy all these years later. “It stayed open until 4am so it was pretty lively at times. A good DJ, good music, good food, good bartenders there too. It was a good time. They threw big parties there so I will be used to it,” he quipped ahead of a glamour European tie which encapsulates how far the 32-year-old has travelled in the game. 

The Dubliner had only gone to America on a one-year working visa to enjoy the craic with some friends, yet he is a decade later reflecting on the final weeks of an excellent six-year stint at Sale, the club who have had to recruit England out-half George Ford as his replacement when the USA captain switches to Bristol in the offseason and goes working again with his old title-winning coach from Connacht, Pat Lam.  

Asked by RugbyPass to put his unexpected thriving career into context, MacGinty said: “It’s my ten-year anniversary of being a bartender in New York, so a lot has changed. I was living in New York, working in a bar and living with my mates and deciding what I was going to do at the end of a one-year visa.

“I was like, ‘I’m staying in New York, I’m not going home’. My dad said, ‘No, you need to get out of the pub and focus on your studies or do something else’. An opportunity opened up in Atlanta to go down and study and play rugby and I guess Pat Lam then gave me the opportunity to play in Connacht.

“There are so many people that have been so supportive and believed in me when I didn’t when I was young. When I left Dublin it was like, 'You only went professional if you were a superstar'. That was the thought I had in my head and I wasn’t a superstar. It’s been crazy. I have loved every minute of it and there are still many years to go. 

“I didn’t even think of it like that but it’s nice of you to say that,” added MacGinty when it was put to him that it must reflect well on him that Sale had to recruit Ford as his replacement for next season? “Yeah, George Ford is a class player and he will be brilliant up here. I’m happy the club will be in a very strong place with George Ford here.” 

How would MacGinty like to be remembered by Sale when he leaves at the end of June? “I don’t know. As a person, I feel like I have grown so much. Since the age of 21, I have left home, lived in New York, Atlanta, Galway and Sale and I have been here six years and had my two kids here, so this is always a special place for me. The head still isn’t around it, I haven’t moved yet, I haven’t even thought about it. 

“I am so focused on giving everything I can here but I’m thankful for this club and the people involved in it for the patience they had in making me a better rugby player. There has been a hell of a lot of growth and development in me as a person and as a player. The least you can do is just reciprocate that and give everything you can. I have always tried to give everything to my club and for my teammates. That is how I would like to be remembered, I guess.”

It was Steve Diamond who signed MacGinty for Sale after Lam contacted him from Connacht. Even though the out-half was born and raised in Dublin, he wasn’t Irish qualified due to his decision to represent America and the IRFU weren’t willing to extend the one-year deal he had when helping the western province to win the PRO12 in 2015/16. 

Having had four and a half seasons under Diamond and a year and a half under current boss Alex Sanderson, the half-back is well positioned to compare their tenures at the Manchester club. “I was 25 when I came over here under Steve and I remember he would always say ‘you’re raw’ and I was.

“With Steve it was more mental, being a very physical hard-nosed team. That was the nature of the team. If I was older when I got here I probably would have appreciated that more but I was still craving more insight and more learning. Since Alex has come in there is probably a lot more detail on the technical side of things, the tactical side of things which I really appreciate as well. 

“I know there is that balance between the two. Like, not one size fits all and I probably didn’t get my best out of myself when I was with Steve because I was still learning a lot and was still trying to find my way. It’s different times in your career and because I want to go into coaching when I am older, it’s a learning for me on how to deal with different personalities and what they want out of their career and what they need at that time."

The last occasion Sale were in France, MacGinty was an eleventh-hour casualty. His wife went into labour with their second child and the out-half missed the January pool trip to Clermont. “My child was due to be born on Saturday but didn’t arrive until early Sunday morning. I still tried to get out on the Sunday but I had to stay with my wife and baby girl. That game is a bit of a blur because I didn’t have much sleep.

“A big thing for me is it’s my last few months at the club. The detail since Al has come in has definitely made us better players but it is also the relationships we have had for the long time this group has been together, there have been a lot of lads here for many years. 

“Jono (Ross) came in my second year, Faf (de Klerk) my second year, the du Preezs my third year so three or four years we have been together and that means a lot for me and in terms of our cohesion and stuff on the pitch, that should add a lot as well. It’s really important in these sort of games - a big exciting game for us.”