William Joseph Addison (born 20 August 1992) is an English-born Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who plays as a utility back for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup, and internationally for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. A product of the Sale Sharks academy, Addison made his club debut for Sale in 2010. He was part of the

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...

side which won the Junior Six Nations. He also featured at the 2012 Junior World Cup. He split time between his rugby career and studying for a degree in business studies, graduating in 2014. He was named the Sharks' captain ahead of the 2017-18 season, having previously captained the side in the absence of Josh Beaumont. Addison is Irish-qualified through his Fermanagh-born mother, and grew up supporting Ireland. His contract with Sale contained an option to leave if an Irish team approached him, and he signed for Ulster ahead of the 2018–19 season in pursuit of his ambitions to play international rugby. He had a successful start to the season, initially at fullback, later at outside centre."Making an impact at Ulster Rugby"
The Front Row Union, 23 May 2019 On 24 October 2018, he was named in the Ireland squad for the November Internationals. On 3 November 2018 he made his debut for Ireland against Italy. He sustained a back injury in January 2019 that required surgery and kept him out for fifteen months. He returned to action in April 2021, before his season was ended by a red card for a dangerous tackle against Munster in May. He started the 2021–22 season strongly, playing four games and scoring a try, before sustaining a fracture of the lower leg in October which again meant undergoing surgery.Jonathan Bradley
"Ulster’s luckless Will Addison sustains broken leg"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 18 October 2021

References

External links

Ulster Rugby profileUnited Rugby Championship profile
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Ireland profile
1992 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester English people of Irish descent English rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Penrith, Cumbria Rugby union wings Sale Sharks players Ulster Rugby players {{ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub