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Ex-Ireland back Will Addison in talks about rejoining Sale Sharks
By Neil Fissler
Ulster utility back and former Ireland international Will Addison is in talks about returning to Sale, his former Gallagher Premiership club, at the end of the season.
The ex-England U20 international, who is Irish-qualified through his Enniskillen-born mother, made over 110 appearances for the Sharks before joining Ulster in March 2018 on an initial two-year deal.
The 31-year-old Penrith-born Addison, who can play at outside centre, winger and full-back, has made eight appearances this season for the Irish province, but the ex-Sale skipper could now return to the AJ Bell Stadium.
Addison, who won the last of his four Ireland caps against the USA in July 2021, crossed the Irish Sea to join Ulster in a successful bid to win international honours after failing to win an England cap under Eddie Jones.
He has overcome two significantly long spells on the sidelines since moving to Ulster. A back injury kept him out for 15 months before a broken leg suffered in October 2021 saw him miss two years.
Addison was just back in his stride after the back problem when he was involved in a freak tackle against the Emirates Lions and when he was recovering, he needed a second operation to put a plate and pin his leg.
He admitted that during those two years, he wondered if it was a sign that he should be calling time on his career. “There was a lot of searching in the dark of looking for answers and trying things and then figuring out a path,” he said. “There were certainly times I thought this is a sign I should finish.”
Sale’s talks with Addison are another sign that they are planning for life after the expected departure of England and British and Irish Lions centre Manu Tuilagi. RugbyPass last week reported that the club had also spoken with Western Force’s Sam Spink.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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