Bay Steamers prop Aidan Ross chosen for Chiefs

STEPPING UP: Aidan Ross passes the ball for the Chiefs in Friday night's pre-season match against the Blues in Auckland. PHOTO: photosport

Aidan Ross was always going to make the step up from Mitre 10 Cup level to Super Rugby.

It was just a question of when.

The transition has happened quicker than expected for the likeable Bay of Plenty front row prop with Ross recruited for the new campaign last week after Mitchell Graham broke his leg in the final of the Brisbane Global Tens.

Ross, 21, said he was at work when he got the call he had been waiting for.

"I spent a bit of time at the Chiefs before Christmas and they had told me if there was an injury I would be the first one to be called upon. I always had that in the back of my mind so the important thing for me was pretty much to stay ready and fit as it can happen anytime," he said.

"I got the call on Monday and had to be over there for Tuesday so it all happened pretty fast really."

Ross played 20 minutes for the Chiefs on Friday night against the Blues in a warm-up match in Auckland. He had to play at blindside flanker which he said "was a bit surprising".

"I got thrown in the deep end a bit there. I have never played anywhere except front row in my life but it was all good. I just pushed hard on the tighthead side of the scrum which was the main thing."

There are plenty of familiar faces in the Chiefs front row ranks with Ross joining fellow Steamers Nathan Harris, Liam Polwart and Ziggy Fisi'ihoi plus a former Steamers prop with a close personal history with Ross.

"Kane Hames was my very first rep coach in the Bay under-14s so it is pretty special to be playing with him and in the same squad as him. We were having a bit of a laugh about it the other day," Ross said.

Both one-test All Black Hames and Ross have had to fight for every opportunity in the game. Ross was a standout player in the 2013 Tauranga Boys' College First XV but missed out on selection for the New Zealand Secondary Schools and the New Zealand Barbarians side.

The disappointment just made him more determined to prove the doubters wrong. He did that in 2015 when Mount Maunganui College old boy Scott Robertson selected him for the New Zealand team to contest the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy.

"My goal in the First XV was to make the Bay of Plenty side and once you got there you want to take the next step and obviously that next step is Super Rugby," Ross said.

"You are always trying to do one better and climb that chain. You have boxes to tick along the way by making teams as you come up through the ranks."

Early challenges up against some grizzly older props playing for the Bay of Plenty Steamers were a test of his character and scrumming technique but Ross came through with flying colours.

His ability to learn quickly, inherent leadership qualities and determination means he could be a regular in the match-day 22 before too long. He deserves nothing less.