Rugby Schools’ Cup’s big guns may be waiting in the wings in the next stage of the competition but Wellington College talisman Tom Gonzalez is unconcerned by the prospect of taking on the likes of Methody and Inst.

That’s because the mature No.8 is focusing all of his attention on making sure the Belfast side put Bangor Grammar to the sword in the third round.

Wellington booked their place alongside the Co. Down boys thanks to an emphatic victory over Lurgan College on Saturday and Gonzalez was a key figure in that win.

The 31-9 success raised a few eyebrows as Wellington went into the game as underdogs bearing in mind that they had been on the receiving end of a hammering themselves by the same team earlier in the season. But Gonzalez, while excited by the prospect of a good run in schools’ rugby’s blue riband competition, is wary of thinking too far ahead.

“The scoreline may have suggested it was an easy win but it was certainly hard-fought,” said the 18 year-old.

“We performed really well and put everything into the win and it is great to be in the next round.

“We knew we were going in as underdogs because we were away from home and we had lost to Lurgan already but we just give it all we had and thankfully we got the win.

“We were really up for it and you could see how much it meant to us at the end of the match. Now we just have to concentrate on doing it all again against Bangor.

“Everyone is really excited about being in the next round but we know we still have a lot to do.

“Bangor are a decent side and getting them at home will give us a bit of an extra boost.”

Gonzalez added: “I think if we play well against Bangor we have a decent chance of getting further.

“We have to just focus on that match, though, and not start thinking any further than that.”

Gonzalez is one of the ‘old heads’ in what is essentially quite a young Wellington side.

It means that as captain, he also has the responsibility of using his experience to help the more youthful members of the squad.

And it is a task that he admits he is keen to carry out, having at one point been in that position himself.

“I’ve been in the team for three years now and there are about six of us who have played since then,” he said.

“It’s good to have that continuity in the team because there are a lot of fifth former in the team this year.

“At the start of this year it is was difficult because the younger ones had just come in but the older players like myself have helped them to settle into the team because I know from experience that it can be pretty scary playing with and against the ‘bigger boys’.

“They’re doing well though and are already as much a part of the squad as anyone else.”