Will Addison wary of Zebo’s ‘special qualities’
Ireland hopeful Will Addison has pinpointed the threat posed by Simon Zebo when Ulster face Racing 92 in their second Heineken Cup Pool 4 clash in Paris tomorrow evening. Addison, Ulster’s big signing from Sale Sharks over the summer, and now back to full fitness following illness, is well aware of Zebo’s special qualities which has burgeoned since sampling the free-flowing rugby associated with his new French club.
“He’s made an unbelievable start,” said Addison, who qualifies for Ireland through his Fermanagh-born mother. “You can see that just like Gilly (Craig Gilroy), he’s an incredibly instinctive and talented player. And that’s always a bonus when you’re playing in France because the game over there is so fluid.
“Yes, It can be forward-dominated, and if you are a back that just likes to get the ball in your hands then you do your own thing, almost (like Zebo). He’s been immense in their first few games in the Top 14 and he’s definitely a danger man and we’ll be looking out for him,” explained Addison, who scored his first Ulster try last week in the victory over Leicester Tigers.
He expects a tough time in the spectacular La Defense (U) Arena tomorrow night — and revealed that Ulster have been training on an artificial surface ahead of the game.
They’re a team I’ve not played before at a venue none of us have played at either,” said the 26-year-old Cumbrian-born Addison. “But all of us enjoy the European Cup for these reasons, and you go to these new places and have new experiences, and hopefully create good memories.
“I don’t know what it will be like playing in their stadium. We’ve got the artificial surface out the back (at Ravenhill), so we’ve been on that and you get a read on how the ball bounces. The bounce of the ball is different, sometimes the ruck speed is different so we’ve all that got that little bit of experience of the surface, but I’ve never played indoors before. That’ll be something new, but the way we like to play is fast and loose and that will suit us indoors with a dry ball.”
As well as hoping to advance any Ireland credentials, Addison came to Ulster wanting to taste Champions Cup rugby again.
“At Sale we were always a kind of a ‘yo-yo’ team, and it was always tough to qualify. It was one of the main reasons for me coming here, to have that opportunity almost year-in, year-out in the Champions Cup. To play at the Kingspan in the first game of the Champions Cup was a privilege. The atmosphere is incredible. Playing away trips in Europe is immensely hard, because of the crowd, and the way it really gets up against you. “Leicester probably found that last weekend and it will be the same for us in France on Saturday.”
