As he continues to settle into life in Ireland, Penrith’s Will Addison has certainly made an impact in recent weeks - which has ultimately earned him an international call-up.

Back spasms thwarted the 26-year-old’s involvement in the early stages of his debut campaign at Ulster.

But Addison, from King’s Meaburn, appears to have found his feet, having scored in his side’s opening European Champions Cup fixture, a 24-10 win over Leicester Tigers.

But that victory was followed by a 44-12 defeat to Racing 92 on Saturday, while Ulster are fifth in their early Guinness Pro14 table.

"I have been pretty happy with it but it has been a little bit mixed," admits Addison, assessing the start to the season.

"We had a really good start to the season.

"Two wins against Scarlets [15-13] and Edinburgh [30-29] which showed a lot of heart and the desire we have in the squad which I think is integral. We had a really tough tour to South Africa [in September] and I think we got a lot of benefits out of it, a lot of younger guys got opportunities.

"I think going away to South Africa is always a tough thing to do, especially with the travel and we had a five-day turnaround, including the travel from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg and then Bloemfontein.

"That wasn’t easy to deal with. With the squad the way it is at the moment we had a couple of injuries over there, myself included, and it gave a great opportunity to some young players even if we didn’t get some of the results we wanted.

"Going into the Champions Cup against Leicester was always going to be tough, but I thought we did really well."

Addison’s try against Leicester was his second for the Irish side, having also crossed the whitewash in the success over Edinburgh, although Addison concedes that he is more interested in the team result, rather than his individual performances.

"I think I’ve settled in well. Tries aren’t something I go searching for really, I’m more interested in the team performance," he admits.

"If I play well, I’m normally pretty happy.

"There is certainly a lot to improve on in my game now that I’m back from injury."

Ulster return to Guinness Pro14 against Dragons this evening (7.45pm kick-off) after their first two matches of their 2018/19 European campaign.

Addison says he loved getting his first taste of the European Cup atmosphere at the Kingspan Stadium in the win over Leicester, saying he felt the experience has helped to vindicate his decision to leave Sale Sharks in the summer.

"Yeah, absolutely. At Sale, we were always a bit of a yo-yo team, finding it hard to compete on both fronts," he concedes.

"One year we would be in the Champions Cup, the next we wouldn’t. It was something I always loved, playing in the Champions Cup for Sale.

"At Ulster, they have a rich history, having won the competition in 1999. From there on, they have always been there and thereabouts.

"It was definitely something I looked at, to play in these huge European games and the first taste at the Kingspan, under an incredible atmosphere, definitely vindicated that decision.”

At Sale, Addison had been club captain but, despite no longer having the armband after his move, Addison still says that he considers himself to be one of the more senior players in the squad.

"I’m probably still one of the senior lads in the backline," he says.

"We had a young guy called Michael Lowry playing against Leicester and he did unbelievably well.

"Any words of wisdom I can give to help those guys with my experience, then I’m happy to do that.

"I would still call myself a leader. It’s not anything I go out, searching to do.

"But I think it’s something that comes quite naturally and, luckily, I have plenty of experience to draw upon."

While any switch can be a challenge, Addison admits his versatility, having played at full-back and centre, has helped him to settle in and find a role in a talented side which also includes the likes of Ireland captain Rory Best, international team-mate Iain Henderson and New Zealand-born Irishman Rodney Ah You.

"It has helped me throughout my career, really," he confirms.

"Whenever I am coming back from injury if there is any chance to get back into the team, whether that’s at working centre or full-back, I have those kinds of bases covered.

"That is something I’m very lucky to be able to do and I’m happy that I’m able to do all that for the team.

"Wherever I can fit in and do a job for the team, like I did at Sale in the past, I’m happy to do that."

Addison is an England Under-20 international but has now broken into the Ireland set-up, having earned a call-up on Wednesday. He qualifies to play for Joe Schmidt’s team through his mother’s background.