If he didn’t know before, AJ MacGinty knew he was in a game with this hit from Isa Nacewa.
They may be friends off the pitch but, as it should be, Connacht and Leinster went at each other with reckless abandon and scant care for their own health when they met on Saturday evening.
Connacht eventually came out on top in the crucial Guinness PRO12 clash between the table-toppers.
Bundee Aki, Denis Buckley and 21 other Connacht heroes show Leinster who's boss https://t.co/qPFDsRHWFB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 26, 2016
But throughout a hugely intense 80 minutes just about every player had a cut off each other and referee Nigel Owens has had his work cut out for him.
Moments before Kieran Marmion showed brilliant pace to score the only try of the game Connacht, Isa Nacewa attempted to shatter MacGinty’s rib cage.
There was a touch of swinging arm about the contact and Sky Sports co-commentator described it as ‘not entirely legal’.
What a hit from Nacewa! https://t.co/0h7ORwG6YC
— AllForRugby (@AllForRugby1) March 26, 2016
MacGinty didn’t complain and, two minutes later, was knocking over a conversion to make it 7-0.
Feisty stuff.
