Penrith-born Will Addison is going back to Sale Sharks for the 2024/25 season after leaving Ulster.
The 31-year-old utility back is a former Sale captain and he has agreed a one-year deal with the Sharks with another year’s option.
A product of the Penrith club, and a former pupil of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Addison joined the Sale Academy at 18 and went on to play 114 times for the Sharks, scoring 158 points.
In 2012 he played four times for England Under-20s but later went on to play five times for the senior Ireland side, gaining qualification through his Fermanagh-born mother.
Addison joined Ulster in 2018 but his career there has been interrupted badly by two serious injuries.
He missed more than a year with a back injury after first joining the Irish club and then missed a further 12 months with a broken leg.
Addison told the Sale website: “It was really tough to leave Sale but I did it for the right reasons and I have loved my time in UIster. I played international rugby for Ireland and that was a huge dream of mine.
“But I’ve remained a big Sale supporter and I’ve loved watching the club going from strength to strength in the last couple of years.”
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson added: “Most of the staff here have already worked with him, and they tell me he’s one of the most gifted players they’ve worked with and one of the best people they’ve worked
“That’s reason enough to open the doors again and bring him back into the fold.”
Nigel Beaty, a former first team coach at Penrith, said: “He started at Upper Eden his family club and then played for QEGS at Penrith and the Penrith club until he was 17 when Sale signed him.
“He was an outstanding player in all teams and we couldn’t work out why Newcastle Falcons weren’t interested. That’s why Sale were allowed to sign him.
“When I was first team coach and development manager I coached in QEGS and it was the year they reached the England Schools Vase final at Twickenham.
“He was the youngest on the pitch at 15 but one of the best, but playing against some lads who were 18.
“Club coaches at Penrith included his dad Chris and I also had him while I coached Cumbria Under-18s when he was 17 and soon to sign for Sale.”
