LOCKDOWN ALLOWED MOST players the chance to reflect on their careers and how they have progressed up to this point and where, perhaps, they aspire to be in several years’ time.
For Will Addison, it was a conversation that, at one point, could have easily gone one of two ways.
Still only 28-years-old, the versatile Ireland back went down injured during the build-up for the 2020 Six Nations with Ireland with a straightforward calf injury, but it was during rehab for that when a much bigger issue struck – a recurrence of a back problem.
It had been hoped that it would be something that could be addressed by rest and recovery over lockdown. Fifteen months later and it’s only now that he has returned to action.
The time off when Covid-19 struck didn’t have the desired effect and, instead of making an immediate return to the pitch for the Guinness Pro14 run-in, Addison was off to the surgeon’s table for a fairly unique surgery, a microdiscectomy.
“It’s basically shaving off a bit of the disc that’s protruding to put pressure on the nerve,” explains the English-born back.
“That’s the basis of it, but what I’ve had done as well is a small spacer put between two vertebrae just to give it more support in the hope that it prevents further injury. We can’t rule it out but it’s giving me a good bit of support so that this time a similar sort of injury won’t occur again.”
The back problem ruined what had been a very promising trajectory for Addison, who had established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet at Ulster and was quickly becoming a valuable asset for Andy Farrell as a versatile option in the Ireland back-line too.
But when his back flared up again, all those plans had to be put on ice. While he wouldn’t have expected it to have been a fifteen month lay-off, his return to the pitch would have to be placed on the backburner.
But there was a very real possibility that things might not have even progressed to this stage. Having always been plagued with back problems throughout his career, both with Sale Sharks and now with Ulster, the frustration over his latest setback only continued to mount, especially over lockdown.
No amount of reading or working on his new aromatherapy business behind the scenes with partner Emma or even heading back home to Cumbria to work on the family farm could distract him from the looming question that this might be one injury too many for him to come back from, especially when surgery was the only solution.
Added to that was a glimpse into what could be. With additional time to dedicate to other endeavours, Addison was able to get a look at how things could be beyond the pitch and whether or not it would appeal to him in the short-term instead.
“Whenever it’s an injury to your back it’s really serious, and I’ve had a couple now, so there is a point when you start to weigh up whether this brilliant job in playing professional rugby is worth what could be beyond rugby,” admits Addison.
“The most difficult part about trying to accept that it might be the end is that feeling that you’ve way more in the tank. That’s the mental challenge of it. The surgery gave us a framework and then you can put your best foot forward.
“Lockdown was a small experience of what semi-retirement might be like and it actually wasn’t too daunting, I got some work done on the farm at home and I got to look at what I maybe wanted to do if that was the end.”
Not being part of team activities was something that weighed heavily on him too.
“Injury and rehab can be quite isolating at any time, most players will tell you that, but during Covid it’s even worse,” he recalls.
“You can’t go for a beer with your mates at the end of the week, you can’t go for a coffee after training and be social with your team-mates. The virus has really put a stop to that and you feel isolated during that time.”
But, after a long slog working behind the scenes and staying as optimistic as possible, the return date finally came, a 30-minute stint off the bench against Connacht in Ulster’s Rainbow Cup opener a couple of weeks ago.
While the man himself admits that the emotion perhaps didn’t hit him as much as it would have had fans been in the stadium, the roar he got from the bench when he took to the pitch at Kingspan Stadium was enough to tell you how much it meant to his squadmates.
And it was a performance that was filled with plenty of reminders of his quality that Ulster and Ireland fans could easily have forgotten about during his absence, one excellent line-break and a try-saving one-on-one tackle on Abraham Papali’i the highlights.
A return to the Ireland squad could easily beckon this summer if he makes it through the remainder of the Rainbow Cup unscathed – starting tomorrow night at Munster – but the man himself is just happy to be back on the pitch again.
“The surgery has given me… I wouldn’t say a new lease of life, but the option to continue doing what I love doing and what I’m passionate about,” he says gratefully.
“Hopefully when I do come to finish up in however many years’ time I’ll look back on these last few months as really useful in helping me prepare for [retirement] because I’ve had to face those fears already in a certain way, but the surgery and the work over the past six months have given me the chance to go on and finish my career the way I want to.
“I’m grateful to the surgeons and the guys around Ulster for giving me an extension to my career.”
