Wasps look as though they have unearthed another gem who has come through the relentless Royal Grammar School conveyor belt, following in the footsteps of Christian Wade, Matt Dawson and Tom Rees.

Ross Neal put in a magnificent performance on his debut against Bristol two weeks, scoring two tries as they beat off the Bears 32-28 in a thrilling tussle.

Neal and his team-mates were brought back down to earth as they lost to the mighty Saracens 29-6 on Saturday but Neal revealed to the Bucks Free Press that he is living the dream.

He said: “My debut came about quite quickly. I didn’t know I was playing until the Thursday and it was quite an odd one as I was selected on the wing [Neal is a centre by trade].

“However, it got off to a great start for me, scoring two tries and more importantly the team battled back from not having won in seven games so all in all it was the dream start on a personal level.

“I remember waking up the next day reflecting on it and letting it sink in and it was great to be a part of.”

On Twitter, Neal was congratulated by his colleagues for his performances as well as Wade.

The 23-year-old praised the impact that Wade had when he joined the club from London Scottish and how he helped him settle in at the Ricoh Arena.

Neal added: “Wadey is an all-round nice guy. He treats everyone the same and he was brilliant with me when I came in, giving me advice.

“Obviously he had left the club by the time I had made my debut but it was great to get a message from him after and being a fellow former RGS student like me, it was a nice connection.”

That RGS link has seen so many top-class rugby players churned out over the years, with quite a few going into international honours with their respective countries.

Neal paid tribute to the coaching he had when at the school and feels the work that his mentors did with him should not be underestimated.

He said: “RGS really is one of the top rugby schools in the country.

“I had help from various coaches. To be honest, I was quite a late bloomer so the likes of Simon Copeland, Jon Scourfield, Liam Doubler and Trevor Wooliams helped me progress with my skill-set and the improvement they gave me was incredible."