The USA Men’s National Team has the little matter of playing Canada this coming Saturday, and maybe, just maybe, somebody not named AJ MacGinty can get some points.

For his part, the Irish-born Life University flyhalf would be delighted to see someone else on the scoreboard. MacGinty has impressed over his first three games, scoring 44 points in three games, breaking off several nice runs, getting a yellow card, and logging a few more tackles than you might expect.

All photos by David Barpal for Goff Rugby Report. Click on image to enlarge.

While his first 40 minutes against Samoa were shaky at times, he has emerged as the first-choice flyhalf for the USA.

“It was very disappointing to start the way we did against Samoa,” MacGinty told Goff Rugby Report. “It was certainly a learning experience! We fought extremely hard to get back into it and the game was there for us to win. It set the tone for what to expect at this level.” 

While MacGinty has played for the USA Selects and for Life University in the ARP, playing in a full international is a whole new experience - as any player will tell you.

“The game was extremely physical and played at such a fast pace,” MacGinty said of his debut against Samoa. “I look back on that defeat and it frustrates me some of the errors I allowed myself to make. I thought we played better in our two wins and should have been up more for how dominant we were. The more we play together will benefit us and we will take these opportunities. I'm still growing in this role and learning from my teammates each day.”

Of course MacGinty’s security as a goalkicker gives him security in terms having a place on the team, but he’s also done quite well in other aspects of the game. He’s shown himself to be an elusive runner, and he does not shy away from a tackles. GRR asked MacGinty about tackling much bigger players, and he noted that on his last weigh-in he tipped the scales at about 202 pounds - heavier, it seems, than he looks.

“I’m certainly not the biggest guy out there but wouldn't consider myself small either!,” said MacGinty. “The #10 channel is an important channel to defend off set pieces, with a lot of responsibility. It was one of the biggest tests stepping up to this level and being able to handle the physicality. I've done a lot of work with [defensive coach Phil Bailey] in this area and I'm still working to get better at it. I'm fortunate to have two strong defenders either side of me and I want them to have confidence in me defensively. Im just focused on being aggressive off the line, working with my pod and getting in their face.”

Those defenders each side of him include Thretton Palamo and Andrew Suniula at inside center, and, usually, Mike Petri or Shalom Suniula at scrumhalf. Shalom Suniula may well turn out to be spending more time at flyhalf as time goes on, with Niku Kruger getting a shot at some scrumhalf time.

in the #9 jersey. He’s working with those halfbacks on offense, too.

“The more we train and play together the better we will get,” MacGinty said. “I thought we improved over the course of the PNC campaign and we will continue to improve over the next month. We have a clear understanding of the systems were running and we need to be confident in our ability to make the right calls and boss the game.”

Bossing the game means, in part, scoring some tries. The Eagles got one against Samoa, one against Japan, two against Tonga, and none against Canada. None of those tries were scored by backs. 

“It was obviously disappointing to not score any tries in the PNC,” said the flyhalf. “There were a couple of opportunities to score, but overall our execution wasn't good enough and that is what we need to improve over the next series of games. We got good ball off the forwards so I need to make sure we put it to better use. We have a lot of dangerous players in the backline so the aim is to get the ball in their hands with space to exploit. We do this more often and I'm confident we will score some tries.”