Sale Sharks produced an impressive display of attacking rugby to secure a 31-16 victory at home to Newcastle Falcons and cement their place in the top four of the Gallagher Premiership.
Fly-half AJ MacGinty was undoubtedly the stand-out player in the match, thanks to his other-worldly offload which set up a try for lock forward Lood de Jager early in the game.
Already 7-0 up after a first-minute score from Marland Yarde, Sale didn’t waste any time in getting their second which was started and (almost) finished by MacGinty himself.
The American fly-half floated a pass to Josh Beaumont, who scampered up the wing before feeding back to MacGinty.
MacGinty then produced a miraculous reverse flick pass to the oncoming de Lager despite being almost horizontal to the touchline, somehow keeping both of his feet in play.
The try naturally went up to the TMO, which not only confirmed the on-field decision of a try, but also showcased just how skillful MacGinty had been. Replays showed that the out-half kept his focus on the touchline, maintained his balance despite heading off the pitch and then got his pass away to de Jager to touch down.
Sale’s Director of Rugby, Alex Sanderson hailed MacGinty’s all-round performance and his acrobatic prowess post-match.
“He’s [AJ MacGinty] in fine fettle! To coin a northern expression.” 😅 @SaleSharksRugby‘s DoR Alex Sanderson pleased with another win but more so with the progression shown by his players tonight 👏 pic.twitter.com/k3C5qYEMPy
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) March 5, 2021
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