By all means wish rugby league convert Ryan Cross the best of luck against the All Blacks on Saturday night - just don’t dare tell him to “break a leg” in his Wallabies starting debut.

It was literally two broken legs seven years ago which stalled his promising rugby league career and denied Cross major representative honours and grand final glory in the 13-a-side code.

But Cross’s misfortunes seemed a world away today when the 28-year-old centre was named to replace injured captain Stirling Mortlock in Australia’s Bledisloe Cup opener at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.

“To come to this point in my career has just made the hard work I’ve done worthwhile and I just feel really proud,” Cross said.

“I missed two years pretty much through the early 2000s, so it’s good to bounce back.”

Cross appeared destined for higher honours from the moment he scored two tries on debut for the Sydney Roosters against Manly in 1998.

But after playing in the Roosters’ first grand final in a quarter of a century - the 14-6 loss to Brisbane in 2000 - Cross’s league career was littered with disappointments.

The two broken legs sidelined him for the bulk of the 2001 and 2002 seasons, including the Roosters’ drought-breaking premiership triumph in ‘02 over the New Zealand Warriors.

When he finally regained full fitness, Cross played in two more grand final defeats for the Roosters in 2003-04 before joining the Western Force at the start of 2007.

“I haven’t had that much luck in the big games,” he admitted.

“But obviously the Wallabies are on a bit of a roll at the moment with the confidence coming out of last week.”

Not to mention the confidence Cross gained personally from the half hour’s Tri-Nations experience he gained coming off the bench in the Wallabies’ 16-9 defeat of South Africa on Saturday night.

“It was a huge step up from the earlier Tests,” Cross said after earning his first Test cap against France last month.

“The intensity was huge. They’re the world champions so it was good to come out of that with a good win and get 30-odd minutes.

“It was a pretty nervous time getting on there.”

Interestingly, Cross’s only two coaches since switching codes have been the two New Zealander defectors who coached the All Blacks when they won back the Bledisloe Cup from Australia in 2003.

John Mitchell helped develop Cross to the extent that he won the Force’s Player of the Year award after a superb Super 14 campaign this year and now Robbie Deans has handed him his first start for the Wallabies.

Deans has no doubts Cross is ready to fill Mortlock’s shoes.

“They’re not dissimilar in many ways,” Deans said.

“They’re both pretty direct, they’ve both got a presence and they’re both good defenders.

“Ryan’s done really well with the opportunity that he’s had, which is always a good trait.

“Sometimes you can’t be too sure until you throw blokes the rope and he’s responded to every opportunity he’s had and he’ll be fine.

Cross rated his selection the highlight of his career, above even his three grand final appearances for the Roosters.

“It’s probably bigger,” he said. “Playing for a club side in a grand final is a bit different.

“Playing for your country against New Zealand is definitely the biggest game in my career.”

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