Aidan Ross was excited to meet his new teammates at training this week and pull on a different-coloured jersey for the first time on Saturday.
He still is, but there's a twist.
The former All Black’s plan, mapped out close to a year ago, was to make his debut in the blue and gold of the Bull Sharks, not the gold of the Australian Wallabies.
Ross, who became eligible for Australia on July 10, has been called into the Wallabies squad for the final British & Irish Lions Test at Accor Stadium in Sydney.
If selected, he would become the fifth player to appear in Test matches for Australia and New Zealand.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I thought I’d be at Bond this weekend, that was the plan,” Ross said.
"But I'm excited to have the call-up to the Wallabies and it would be awesome to play a Test for Australia.
"I was born here and spent the first eight years of my life here and I've got plans... to set up a life here with my family post-rugby."
Born in Gosford, Ross moved with his New Zealand parents to Tauranga when he was eight and played his lone All Blacks Test against Ireland on July 9, 2022.
Under World Rugby’s eligibility rules, a three-year gap between Tests is required before a player can switch allegiances, clearing the path for the 28-year-old to wear Wallaby gold.
Ross is no stranger to Lions rugby. This series alone he has already played twice against the tourists – first in his Queensland debut in the series opener and then for the combined AUNZ squad coached by Les Kiss in Adelaide.
He also featured for the New Zealand Barbarians against the Lions in 2017 and suited up again two weeks later when the Chiefs faced the visitors.
The first prop to play 100 games for the Chiefs has joined the Reds on a three-year deal.
He arrived in Queensland the day after playing in the Chiefs’ 16-12 Super Rugby final loss to the Crusaders and quickly made his presence felt.
“I finished the Super finals and flew over the next day and got straight into training,” he said.
“I really wanted to put my best foot forward to make the side to take on the Lions.
“I was always going to leave New Zealand at the end of the Super Rugby season, and with a young family, going all the way to the UK to play isn’t the easiest thing to do, so it was great when the opportunity to join the Reds came up.”
Ross’s decision to join Bond University was influenced by a familiar face – former Chiefs CEO and now Bond’s Director of Sport Mike Collins.
Ross got to know the university during the Chiefs’ 2024 pre-season training camp on the Gold Coast and was impressed by the set-up.
“It was the connection through Mike,” Ross said.
“He was CEO at the Chiefs when I started there and when I was considering coming to Queensland, there was only one club I wanted to play for.
“So I’m 100 per cent in – as long as I’m in Queensland, I’ll be at Bond.”
Collins, who was also a front rower with the Chiefs, said Ross would make a huge impact at the Bull Sharks, even if his on-field appearances were infrequent.
“I got to know Aidan well during my time with the Chiefs, I naturally gravitated to conversations with the front rowers,” he said.
“Aidan is a great club man, and I thought his values lined up nicely with the values of the Bond University Rugby club.
“I was excited for Aidan to make his Bond Bull Sharks debut but also delighted for him to be called into the Wallabies camp.
Rugby remains his focus, but Ross admits he’s happily undergoing a crash course in another favourite Australian pastime – having a beer at the footy.
“I hadn’t watched a second of that game,” he said of his introduction to Australian Football.
“But there’s a local club near where I live and I’ve been wandering down on a Saturday and having a XXXX and watching the footy.
“I’m really getting into it – there’s a lot more contact in that game than I realised.”