BY THE TIME Will Addison made his way into the changing room that serves as an interview area post-match at the Aviva Stadium, he’d had quite a day.
When the 26-year-old woke on Saturday morning, he wasn’t expecting to make his first start for Ireland in Dublin.
With Joe Schmidt’s squad as one of the extra bodies – Finlay Bealham and Tadhg Beirne were the others – for the warm-up and in case of any late injuries, Addison ended up playing the entire 80 minutes against Argentina at outside centre.
Addison sings the national anthem with Ireland. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Robbie Henshaw felt a tweak in his hamstring as Ireland neared the end of their pre-match preparation and, only 20 minutes before kick-off, Addison was suddenly launched into a “whirlwind” of an evening.
The surprise nature of his involvement proved to be a good thing for the former England U20 international, who joined Ulster from Sale Sharks during the summer, as it “kind of took out that emotion and let me concentrate on the task.”
Click Here: cheap south sydney rabbitohs jersey
As soon as the final whistle went and Addison could reflect on what he had achieved, the emotion came out.
“I was pretty much just in tears to my mum [who is from Fermanagh] just there,” said Addison. “They sadly couldn’t come over this time, with it being a spur of the moment selection.
“I’m lucky that I had my girlfriend here, which was great, but I have been on the phone to the parents and the family and I was full of emotion.”
Addison’s Ireland debut came two weekends ago in Chicago as he played the closing quarter of the win over Italy at fullback but the victory against Argentina provided us with a far greater glimpse of his ability.
Speaking after the game, Schmidt revealed that Addison hadn’t spent a great deal of time training at outside centre but he performed admirably despite that fact.
Addison and his girlfriend, Emma. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Addison himself “wasn’t totally happy” with his performance and stressed that not training at 13 with Ireland was no excuse.
“I have got to be adept at both positions and I feel that I have taken a step today but I have got a lot to improve on.”
Addison highlighted his set-piece defence as one area he can get better and a close look back at the game shows the Ireland outside centre allowing Emiliano Boffelli to step inside him at one stage, with Johnny Sexton required to cover across promptly.
“I love defending, it’s one of my favourite parts of the game,” said Addison. “Set-piece wise you come up against a new challenge in international rugby.