NSW Waratahs centre Ryan Cross quickly earned his Wallaby spurs after completing a successful return to rugby union following a nine season rugby league career with the Sydney Roosters.
In his first season with Perth-based Western Force in 2007, Cross played in every Super 14 match, represented Australia A five times and marked his return to the 15-a-side game with selection in the World XV that played South Africa.
His form in his second season with the Force stamped him as one of the best three-quarters in Australian rugby and made him an automatic selection in the Australian Wallabies squad.
After sitting on the bench for the Test against Ireland in Melbourne in 2008, Cross got game time against France in Sydney and again a week later against the tourists in Brisbane when he crossed for two tries.
His run-on debut came in his home city of Sydney the same year against the New Zealand All Blacks, the big three-quarter crossing for a try the first time he touched the ball.
His eighth Test cap in 2008 marked another starting XV appearance - again against the All Blacks, this time in Brisbane.
Although the Wallabies lost 28-24, Cross scored a storming try in the final minutes and was later voted the Player's Player and Australia's best performer from voters on the ARU website.
His excellent 2008 form, which earned him the Western Force's Player of the Year, resuklted in Cross winning a new three year contract with Australian Rugby that will take him to 2011 - and the opportunity to play in the Rugby World Cup.
A former Australian Schoolboys star, Cross, who played nine seasons of rugby league with the Sydney Roosters following his education at Sydney's Waverley College, joined the NSW Waratahs in 2011 after 49 Super Rugby appearances with the Western Force.
Cross was voted Sydney Roosters player of the year in 2005. When his stellar career with the club came to an end in 2006, he had chalked up 143 first-grade appearances, scoring 85 tries, the fifth highest in the club's history.