Former All Blacks prop Aidan Ross will return to his roots to join Queensland Reds beyond the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Ross, 29, was born in Sydney but moved to Tauranga as an eight-year-old, and graduated through the Bay of Plenty (63 games) and Chiefs (88) programmes.
He debuted for the Chiefs against Western Force in 2017 and played one Test for New Zealand, coming off the bench against Ireland at Dunedin in 2022.
Ross was named in the Chiefs squad last month but has now committed to the Reds for 2026. He becomes eligible to play for the Wallabies in July.
"The decision hasn't been an easy one, but this year will be my last season with the Chiefs," he said. "This team has meant so much to me and my family. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've been provided while wearing the jersey.
"The boys and management are a great group, and I am looking forward to kicking off the Super Rugby Pacific season with them."
His debut was pivotal in a notorious passage of All Blacks history, with Ross replacing No.8 Ardie Savea, after prop Angus Ta'avao was concussed and red-carded in a high tackle. The incident left the home side with just 13 men for four minutes, until prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi finished serving his yellow card.
Tu'ungafasi replaced Ross on the field, but Savea was ruled ineligible to return and the All Blacks fell to Ireland for the first time on home soil, en route to their first series defeat to the Irish. Ross later returned to the field to replace George Bower in the front row.
"I've been at the Chiefs since day dot," he said. "I want the team to have a huge season in 2025 and finish in a big way, because I owe so much to the franchise, the coaches and my teammates for moulding me as a rugby player.
"Beyond that, it is a good time to do something different offshore. The attraction with Australia is that I can go there and not be a foreign player.
"It's appealing to also be close to family, because my partner and I now have our own family, with young Albie [17 months]."
Ross has wasted no time declaring his ambitions with the Reds, after coming up short with both the Chiefs and Steamers in recent seasons.
"I've had a gutsful of finishing second — so one ambition is pretty clear," he said.
After several dismal seasons near the bottom of the Super Rugby table, the Reds won Super Rugby AU during Covid and reached quarterfinals during the last three Super Rugby Pacific campaigns — incidentally eliminated by the Chiefs this year.
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