Ex-Ireland back Will Addison in talks about rejoining Sale Sharks
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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After a fairly simple Pac4, the BFs will find out a lot about themselves in September when they face the rampaging RedRoses at Twickenham in front of a record crowd. After that they will face them again in Canada in WXV1. They also have France to contend with. Will be interesting to see what Australia have to offer with Jo Yapp at the helm.
Go to commentsSuper Rugby Pacific has been better as a spectacle due to the emphasis on speeding the game up and I’d look at taking things a step further. Instead of giving teams 90 seconds to take a conversion, let’s bring that down 60 seconds. You could also look at allowing 45 seconds for a penalty goal. Maybe teams could get 20 seconds instead of 30 to form a scrum before the ref then starts the engagement process. However, this year the most pleasing change is the added competitiveness in the Trans Tasman matches. What does frustrate me is how the rugby media in Australasia allow the the whole ‘‘rugby is boring’’/’’rugby yawnion’’ narrative to take hold from from vindictive league types, the chairman of the ARL commission and News Limited Australia. Stick up for the game and shift the narrative!
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