Hall of Fame... Sam Tomkins: The Superman of Super League who lifted an entire sport

Published: 18:00 EST, 12 February 2014 | Updated: 04:24 EST, 13 February 2014

Is it possible to be a legend in your sport by the age of 24? Perhaps Sam Tomkins proves that it is.

For the uninitiated, Tomkins is the poster boy of English rugby league. At least he was. From next month, Tomkins will be a debutant in the Australian NRL, something that in itself indicates his standing in the game.

In short, modern rugby league has a problem in this country and it’s players like Tomkins who have done their best to solve it. Despite the impressive and laudable backing the sport receives from Sky TV in this country, rugby league is a sport that is struggling. Last year, for example, Super League – the game’s top division – didn’t even have a sponsor.

VIDEO: Scroll down to watch England Rugby League fitness training: Sam Tomkins style

What a way to sign off: Sam Tomkins (right) after his last match for Wigan, the Super League Grand Final, in which they beat Warrington to win the trophy (left, held by Pat Richards)

Unbridled joy: Tomkins in wild-eyed celebration after scoring a try during the Challenge Cup final

Celebrations: Tomkins with the Super League trophy and winner's ring (left) and with his 'new best friend', the Challenge Cup - and a can of Tetley's after victory at Wembley in August

Man of Steel: Tomkins (right) with actor Henry Cavill before the Superman 'Man of Steel' premiere

Always a backwater sport – played traditionally along the M62 corridor that links Liverpool to Leeds and beyond – league has suffered in recent years at the hands of the monster that is modern day rugby union and, sadly, the increasingly far reaching tentacles of football.

Those who love it, really love it. League has, though struggled to draw new followers, struggled in its fight for attention and recognition beyond the confines of its own loyalists.

Players like Tomkins, though, have done more than most. A brave, rakish full back, the former Wigan Warriors player first got himself noticed and then got his sport noticed in the five years he played for the Lancashire club.

In league, the full back is even more important than in union. Not only do they need to have superb handling and a reliable boot, their arrival in to the attacking line deep in opponents’ territory will often make the difference between a successful raid on the try-line and failure.

No-one did this better – and with as much elan and flamboyance – as Tomkins did for Wigan. He scored five tries on his debut in a Challenge Cup game against Whitehaven. Nobody had ever done that before. He was 19.

From that point on, there really was no looking back. Over the course of four-and-a-half remarkable seasons, Tomkins became the most consistently dangerous player in Super League and by far the most thrilling to watch. Opposition fans grew to hate him and that, in essence, said everything.

In the beginning: Tomkins scores his fourth of five tries on his Wigan debut, against Workington in the Challenge Cup

Hard to bring down: Huddersfield's Michael Lawrence tries to tackle Tomkins in 2010

International star: Tomkins goes over for a try for England against Wales during the 2011 Four Nations

Catch me if you can: Tomkins speeds away from Leeds pair Zak Hardaker (left) and Danny McGuire in 2012

'I'm a rugby league player': Tomkins played for the Barbarians in 2011 but stayed loyal to the 13-man code

 

Sir Bradley Wiggins and Sam Tomkins team up for advert

By the time the lure of the NRL grew too strong last winter, Tomkins had scored 144 tries in 151 Wigan appearances and 19 in the 19 starts for his country.

Remarkably, he never had any particular confidence that he would make it in the sport. Unsure of his future as a youngster at Wigan, he became a green keeper at a golf course down the road from the club in Ashton-in-Makerfield. He swept leaves and mowed greens by day and trained with the Warriors at night.

It was former GB coach Brian Noble who eventually spotted his potential, suggesting, with under statement as it turned out, that Tomkins had 'a chance of making it'.

Originally playing as a stand-off, Tomkins switched to full back in 2010 and it was from there that he began to receive the recognition of which he proved himself worthy.

Always aware that offers from the NRL were on the table for him, Tomkins also knew that there would be a home for him across the codes in union if he wished to make the switch his brother Joel did two and a half years ago.

Capital idea: The Tomkins brothers Sam, Logan (centre) and Joel (right) in London ahead of the Challenge Cup final

Winning from an early age: Tomkins (centre) with his St John Fisher school mates in Wigan

Brothers in arms: Sam (right) with siblings Joel (left) and Logan holding the Challenge Cup in 2011

Tomkins, as honest as they come, admitted that it attracted him and even turned out for the Barbarians in 2011 against Australia. Playing on the right wing, he scored a try but admitted afterwards that: 'I’m a rugby league player'.

His Wigan career ended at the conclusion of last year’s double season, the Challenge Cup and Super League trophies he lifted coming on the back of previous successes in each competition in 2010 and 2011.

On the world stage, he perhaps has something to prove. His performances in his country’s jersey have not always been conclusive. In the NRL – where he will play for the New Zealand Warriors – he will also be starting from scratch.

Tomkins, though, is not a sportsman used to failure. He lifted a club, a town and indeed a whole league during his time at Wigan. His impact was profound. We would be foolish to back against him Down Under.

 

England Rugby League fitness training: Sam Tomkins style

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