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| 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 | 94 kg (14.8 st; 207 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 rugby union player who plays as a utility back for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup, and internationally for Ireland.
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 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]