"Canberra is no Oreti Beach," the emerging ACT Brumbies tighthead prop grinned.

It was on the coast of Southland Ross spent countless moments during his Super Rugby off-season that never was.

The 23-year-old spent his time away from Brumbies headquarters playing for Southland in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship.

The move was designed to expose Ross to a higher standard of rugby, given the lack of a second tier competition on these shores, as the Brumbies look to bolster their front-row depth.

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After a short break Ross jumped "straight back into the deep end here in Canberra" for pre-season training, confident he returns a more potent weapon at scrum time with an eye on the Super Rugby Pacific season opener.

"It was a different experience myself. I'd never lived out of home so it was definitely an eye-opener for me," Ross said.

"They were a good bunch over there, I learnt a lot around my game, around myself as a person as well. I feel like the experience was definitely worthwhile.

"I think I picked up a lot of little things around my ball carry and then things I need to improve on around defence. They scrum a bit different over there as well, so learning little tricks of the trade, scrumming against different people and that kind of thing made it worthwhile.

"Obviously in 2020 we didn't get to play the Kiwi sides, so coming up against them last year we hadn't played a lot of footy against them. It was a good experience to come up against them.

"They're pretty skill-based, they love throwing the ball around, and I think it was pretty important for me to immerse myself in that culture and try to improve my game in that aspect around skill.

"It's pretty important to play more games against the Kiwis, because coming up on the world stage, they're the benchmark."

Ross sits behind Brumbies captain and Wallabies veteran Allan Alaalatoa in the pecking order in Canberra. It means chances for a start at Super Rugby level are few and far between.

But if and when it comes, Ross says he'll be ready.

Within Brumbies headquarters there is an unspoken expectation that you earn your stripes. Don't, and there's a good chance you're out the door at the end of the season.

Luke Reimer's moment came when he kept pulling on the tackle suit to get belted at training before earning a finals debut. Ross' came when he stepped in for an injured Alaalatoa last season.

The following Monday he walked into training feeling 10-feet taller, confident he has what it takes to match it with the best on the domestic scene.

"I felt like I belonged a bit more," Ross said.

"I had a bit more faith from my peers and my teammates. That was a pretty cool experience for me. Now I need to see that as the benchmark, I see that as the level I need to get up to and that's what I'm going to be working towards.

"During this pre-season I look around and I feel like one of the older boys which is a bit bizarre for me. I find I've been here before, I've done pre-season after pre-season. It's just about getting my body right and getting myself ready for Super Rugby. I feel I've put in the hard work and getting the metres in the legs, the hard work will pay off."

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