 Addison in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | William Joseph Addison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 20 August 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Penrith, Cumbria, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 93 kg (14 st 9 lb; 205 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Manchester | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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William Joseph Addison (born 20 August 1992) is an English-born Irish international rugby union player who played as a utility back for Sale Sharks, Ulster and Ireland. He is currently a player-coach at Sale FC in National League 1.
A product of the Sale Sharks academy, [1] Addison made his club debut for Sale in 2010. [2] He was part of the England U20 side which won the Junior Six Nations. [3] He also featured at the 2012 Junior World Cup. [4] He split time between his rugby career and studying for a degree in business studies, graduating in 2014. [5] He was named the Sharks' captain ahead of the 2017-18 season, having previously captained the side in the absence of Josh Beaumont. [6]
Addison is Irish-qualified through his County Fermanagh-born mother, [7] and grew up supporting Ireland. [8] His contract with Sale contained an option to leave if an Irish team approached him, [9] and he signed for Ulster ahead of the 2018–19 season in pursuit of his ambitions to play international rugby. [2] He had a successful start to the season, initially at fullback, later at outside centre. [10] On 24 October 2018, he was named in the Ireland squad for the November Internationals. [11] On 3 November 2018 he made his debut for Ireland against Italy. [12] He sustained a back injury in January 2019 that required surgery [10] 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. [13]
He started the 2021–22 season strongly, playing four games and scoring a try, [14] before sustaining a fracture of the lower leg in October which again meant undergoing surgery. [15] He signed for Sale at the end of the 2023-24 season, [16] and left at the end of the season, [17] joining semi-professional side Sale FC as a player-coach. [18]