Adamson was born in Stirling, Scotland. He played for Glasgow Hawks. He played with the Hawks for 11 years. He helped Glasgow Hawks to National Cup victory in 2007.
Professional career
Adamson went on to play for Glasgow Warriors, first securing a part-time contract in 2006. At the start of 2006-07 season he played in two pre-season friendlies against Moseley and Newcastle Falcons. He also played for Glasgow Warriors in a friendly at the end of the 2006-07 season against Scotland U20s, scoring a try and four conversions in the match. He then secured a full-time contract with the Glasgow side in May 2007. He was involved in all 3 pre-season matches for the Warriors in 2007-08 season. He made his only competitive appearance for the Warriors in the Celtic League on 4 January 2008 against Newport Gwent Dragons. Although he stayed with the Warriors until 2010 he was unable to gain more competitive appearances, finding himself behind Dan Parks and Ruaridh Jackson for the fly-half berth. He moved on to play for London Scottish but he was to similarly play only 1 competitive match for the exile side, against London Welsh in the 2011-12 season.
International career
Adamson played for Scotland through the age grades:- Scotland U16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and Club XV. He received senior caps for the Scotland 7s side. He was Scotland 7s player of the season in 2006-07 and went on to play in 30 World Rugby 7s events. He was a Plate Winner in the 2009 Dubai tournament and represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Referee career
When Adamson finished playing professional rugby he turned to refereeing. He stated: "Former players usually go down the coaching route after retirement but I feel I will be able to achieve more through refereeing. I have gained a lot from rugby and would like to give back to the sport." He has worked his way up the refereeing ladder, officiating in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in England, the Currie Cup in South Africa as well as PRO D2 in France. His refereeing progress and development has been deemed a rapid rise. He has now also refereed in Japan's Top League. Adamson has been refereeing World 7s matches since 2014. He was appointed to the Refereeing Panel for the Olympic Games Rugby Sevens for Rio 2016. He refereed his first Pro12 match on 26 November 2016; the match Munster versus Treviso. He became the first ex-player to play and referee in the Celtic League / Pro 12 league. He refereed the 2nd Leg of the 1872 Cup between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby at the end of the 2016-17 season. He was named as one of the 9 referees that will take charge of the World Rugby U20 Championships in Georgia 2017.
