The highlight of his early career was kicking the winning goal for Edinburgh Rugby against Biarritz Olympique in 1997 and beating England as part of the Scotland U19 squad in the same season.
He played a pivotal role in Heriot's FP's second successive league title in 1999-00 and was duly rewarded with a professional contract with the Edinburgh Reivers.
His penalty with the last kick of the game gave Welsh an 18–16 win over London Scottish at Old Deer Park, while he landed a crucial drop goal in the first leg of the Championship final against the Cornish Pirates at Menneye Field.
Ross has played Heineken Cup rugby for Leeds, Castres, Edinburgh and Saracens, making 40 appearances in Europe, scoring 263 points.
In February 2002 he kicked two goals from two attempts in quagmire conditions to ensure Scotland A opened their shadow Six Nations campaign with a 6–6 draw against their English counterparts.
Better followed a fortnight later when his last-gasp conversion 20 metres from the right touchline earned the Scots a 30–29 victory over Italy A to which Ross contributed a total of 20 points, including a try.
A preference of Dan Parks by coaches Matt Williams and Frank Hadden, and eventual emergence of a more running fly-half in Phil Godman may have curtailed further call-up opportunities.