Geoffrey Dominic Sebastian Cross (born 11 December 1982) is a Scottish former rugby union player. He played as a tight-head

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

for the

Border Reivers Border reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their v ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. Whil ...

. He won 40 caps for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

between 2009 and 2014. He is also a qualified doctor.

Career

Club

Cross entered professional rugby when he joined

in 2003 from Heriot's after having played for Scotland under-21 that year, including being at tight-head in the team who beat England 33–22 at Newbury in the final match of the age group's world championship. In December 2006 Cross moved from the

on loan until the end of the season, and his debut for the capital city's team followed later that month in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

game against

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became ...

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

. The move was made permanent after Cross's ten appearances during the 2006–07 season. He continued to play an increasingly prominent role in the Edinburgh set up and was called up to the

squad for their tour of Argentina in 2008. Cross continued to play at

until midway through the 2013–14 season, when he was loaned to rivals

following an emergency request due to front-row injuries at the Warriors. The departure of Cross, a crowd favourite, to a league rival while Edinburgh were struggling for form and results was an unpopular move with the fans at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

. Cross's loan to Warriors lasted to the end of the season where he signed for

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is th ...

side

once his contract with Edinburgh expired.

International

Cross was selected for the

squad for the

2009 Six Nations Championship The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national t ...

. His debut match against Wales ended prematurely when he was sin-binned for a tackle in the air on full-back

Lee Byrne Lee Byrne (born 1 June 1980) is a Welsh former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Club career Byrne started his career playing rugby union for Bridgend Athletic RFC; and Tondu RFC, as a ful ...

. Cross was carried off with horrific self-inflicted head injuries. Many people found this ironic as Cross is a qualified doctor. He did not play for the rest of Scotland's campaign. He has since returned for Edinburgh but was not included in new coach

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...

's squad for the 2009 Autumn Tests. Despite being involved in the Scotland set up, including being selected for the victorious tour of Argentina in 2010, he did not add to his caps during the remainder of 2010. Cross was once again called up for the

2011 Six Nations Championship The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby unio ...

, making appearances against England, Ireland and Italy, and has been regularly involved during Scotland's subsequent campaigns.

Beard

For a period of over a year during 2014 and 2015, Cross grew a beard of epic magnitude. He was encouraged to cultivate during a loan spell at

by team-mate – and similarly bearded wonder –

Josh Strauss Josh Strauss (born 23 October 1986) is a South African-born Scotland international rugby union player who currently plays for Israeli side Tel Aviv Heat. He previously played for Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls. His regular playing position is ...

: The hirsute prop's face was eventually shaved by

teammates on the last day of March 2015 (much to the delight of his wife, Helen), having raised over £10,000 for the

Wooden Spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...

charity.

Retirement

Cross retired from professional rugby at the end of the 2015/16 season in order to take up his medical career.

References

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Geoff 1982 births Living people Scottish rugby union players Edinburgh Rugby players Border Reivers players Glasgow Warriors players London Irish players Scotland international rugby union players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Edinburgh