Ryan Cross
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| Full name | Ryan Cross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 October 1979 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre, Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Outside Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Education | Waverley College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Paul Cross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Clay Cross (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ryan Cross (born 6 October 1979) is a former Rugby Union footballer for Racing Metro 92 after signing from USA Perpignan in the French Top 14. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition, the Western Force and the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby and the Australia national rugby union team.[1]
Son of former professional rugby league footballer Paul Cross, a Coogee Randwick Wombats junior who played on the wing for the club in the 1964 and 1965 seasons, Ryan was a product of Waverley College, and was a member of the Australian Schools[2] side in both 1996 and 1997, some of his teammates being future Wallabies Matt Dunning, Adam Freier, David Lyons, George Smith, Phil Waugh and Craig Wing. [citation needed] But he decided to switch codes and joined the Sydney Roosters rugby league club. His brother Clay is an international shot put athlete.
Rugby league career
Cross made his first-grade debut on 17 April 1998, scoring two tries against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. After a promising start to his league career, including an appearance at centre in the 2000 NRL Grand Final, the Roosters' first in 20 years, he had two serious leg injuries. A broken leg saw him miss much of the 2001 NRL season. Just a few matches into the 2002 NRL season he suffered a major knee injury that kept him out for the remainder of that year. That season, Sydney Roosters won the Premiership, their first in 27 years. Cross returned in the 2003 NRL season, finishing as the club's leading try-scorer. He played at centre in the Roosters' loss to the Panthers in the 2003 NRL Grand Final.
In 2004 Cross was chosen to represent City Origin. He then went on to play for the Roosters at centre in their loss to cross-Sydney rivals the Bulldogs in the 2004 NRL Grand Final.
In 2005 Cross was again chosen to represent City Origin. He was suspended for six weeks for eye-gouging Parramatta's Glenn Morrison in a match which the Roosters won 12–8. His absence proved costly for the Roosters as they just missed the finals that year.[citation needed] Cross was named the 2005 Sydney Roosters season player of the year.
In June 2006, after a period of speculation and rumour, Cross signed a two-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union and went to Perth to play for the new Super Rugby side, the Western Force.[3] Cross left the Roosters as the fifth-highest try scorer in the club's history, with 85 tries from his 143 matches. He also played in three losing Grand Finals for the club.