Ulster centre Will Addison has been a revelation for the province this season.
The Ireland utility has made a very impressive start to life in Belfast after moving to Ulster from Sale during the summer and his form earned him a call up to Joe Schmidt’s squad last month with Addison featuring against Italy, Argentina and the USA.
The 26-year-old scored was awarded the man of the match award and scored one of Ulster’s four tries in the 25-24 bonus point win over the Scarlets on Friday night.
With Ulster leading by only eight points with five minutes to play, Addison made a huge tackle on Scarlets substitute fly-half Dan Jones that sent the Wales international flying into the Parc y Scarlets turf.
Ulster winger Henry Speight and full-back Louis Ludik made an excellent try saving tackle on Scarlets winger Steff Evans just moments later before the hosts eventually crossed through Dan Davis.
Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey secured a last minute turnover to seal the win as the northern province move into second place in the Heineken Champions Cup Pool 4 with two wins from three games.
Addison said that he feels like Ulster are a ‘band of brothers’ when they come away from home and that he’s loving his time with the club.
“A few hairy moments near the end, I don’t think JP [Jared Payne, Ulster defence coach] is going to be too happy with me,” Addison told BT Sport after the match.
“I’ve got some things to work on but I think we just showed the heart that we’ve got here which is resisting right until the end.
“I think we showed that unity at the end. I know it’s cliche but we’re a band of brothers when we come away from home. From minute one I’ve loved the group that we’ve got here and it’s a great thing to be a part of.”
After a hit like that, Payne has a very high base to work with.
