Cross examined

Adrian Proszenko, c/o Rugby Heaven,
Sunday, January 28, 2007

When Wallabies selectors named their 47-man training squad for the World Cup in France, Ryan Cross didn't expect his name to be included.

As predicted, the former Sydney Roosters flyer was overlooked, an understandable omission considering he hasn't played a serious game of rugby for almost a decade.

However, after missing out on national honours in an injury-plagued league career, his non-selection has provided extra incentive to make an impact for the Western Force in the Super 14.

"I wasn't expecting to be picked," Cross said. "I haven't played senior rugby in Australia, so it's pretty hard to pick me.

"Obviously I would hope I'm one of the top 47 players in Australia - I just have to prove it. It does give me some motivation, I want to be part of that."

While his focus now is on establishing himself at the Force, who are in only their second season of existence, he admits the prospect of playing for Australia was one of the reasons he returned to rugby after a nine-year absence.

"The soccer World Cup may be the biggest event, but rugby is right behind it, it's a huge event," he said.

"To be part of something like that would be very special, a great experience.

"That's at the back of my mind. I've had a big preparation and the Super 14 is obviously a hard competition. There are some great players.

"That's my main focus, for sure, but if things go well that World Cup spot would be great."

Cross isn't new to rugby. He is a former Australian Schoolboys fullback, playing in teams that contained Wallabies Matt Dunning, David Lyons, George Smith and Phil Waugh. But after such a lengthy absence, he is still readjusting to the demands of rugby.

"It was a great experience playing with some great players," he said of his appearance for a World XV against South Africa in England in December.

"It was good just to get that first game out of the way after being away for nine years.

"That was good but I've still got a lot to learn. All those instincts are going to come back to me slowly.

"It's all those little things that people don't see, those split-second things, that come instinctively from inside you. I'm hoping they'll come to me in time."

The Waverley College product believes he hasn't left it too late to return to the 15-man game.

"I'm 27 now so I'd like to think I've come back in the prime of my life," he said.

"I've had a fair bit of experience and I'm hoping it will be a pretty strong year, my best year."

While he is still coming to terms with the technical aspects of the switch, the biggest adjustments so far have been physical.

Cross has spent most of his off-season in the gym, following a directive from coach John Mitchell to bulk up.

At the Roosters, his playing weight hovered around the 95 kilogram mark - now he is tipping the scales at 100kg. And he's expected to put on a couple more in the weeks ahead.

"It's been a very physical pre-season," he said. "There's been a lot of contact.

"All the tackling and the rucks and mauls is something I'm not used to.

"It's been pretty similar [to league] but the focus on me is to get bigger. It's the heaviest I've ever been.

"They still want me to put another couple of kilos on but I'll see how I go playing at 100."

Cross, likely to play at outside-centre, is excited about the prospect of being part of one of the most exciting back lines in world rugby. The Force have plenty of strike weapons with the ball in hand, including Matt Giteau, Cameron Shepherd, Drew Mitchell, Scott Staniforth, Matt Henjak and Lachlan MacKay.

"There's a lot of competition for spots over here so everyone is on their toes," Cross said.

The Force are likely to improve significantly on their debut season, when they ended up with the wooden spoon after just one win.

"We haven't sat down and talked about how many wins and losses we want, we just want to get off to a pretty good start," Cross said.

"We've got a pretty good draw, the first game at home. If we win that, the possibilities are endless.

"We've got a lot of potential, a lot of young guys coming through who got experience last year.

"If we win more games than we lose it would be a pretty good season and we may even go further if things go well."