But, despite the Murrayfield, outing being his first start in a Scotland jersey since he notched a try in defeat against New Zealand in November, Cross has already bought into the sense that the RBS 6 Nations is very much up for grabs.

And if the Scots front up to Ireland’s physicality, Cross sees no reason why they can’t welcome Wales in early March with two wins from three games under their belt.

“With some unexpected results earlier on in the competition it’s opened it up in a way that puts our future in our own hands and the important thing that we’ve got to do is focus on winning the next game,” said Cross.

“The next game is on Sunday against Ireland and that’s the job for us to do. I’m glad to be back and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“I’ve played Ireland a couple of times before and they’re very aggressive in the contact and they’re not afraid to come at you direct with the forwards and their strong ball carrying so it’s important we meet that physical challenge with the same physicality.”