Sam Tomkins - Time For A Change?

 

Sam Tomkins recently scored the final try, in front of a packed out Wembley Stadium, to win the Challenge Cup for Wigan.

Does a career in rugby league get any better? Is there anything left for the Great Britain player to achieve?

Apparently so, as Tomkins is reportedly eyeing a change of allegiances and stint in Rugby Union, revealing that he is keen to take part in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The twenty-four year old, who has made almost 150 appearances for Wigan Warriors, and scored 144 tries for the club, has been linked with a union switch for some time now. Saracens had been mentioned as a possible destination.

Although, in the last few weeks, reports have emerged that Tomkins has agreed to play for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. However, Tomkins has denied that he will be joining the Auckland-based franchise and is focusing on the Rugby League World Cup which takes place later this year.

Tomkins is open to the idea of following his brother Joel, the Saracens and England Saxons centre, into the union game.

"I am not one of these people who is all about league and says union is rubbish," Tomkins told the Daily Telegraph.

"Seeing England play at Twickenham in front of tens of thousands of people, that is what would do it for me. The international scene in rugby union would be what I would want to get into at some point if I could."

The Wigan player does already have union experience, having featured for the Barbarians on the wing, against Australia at Twickenham in 2011.

When asked if he would want to make the move in time for the 2015 union World Cup, Tomkins added that: “It would be nice. I would never say never if the opportunity came up. To be involved in any World Cup would be amazing so to get into a union one at some point would be amazing. I have not made any plans for the next two years."

Tomkins would not only be looking to follow in the footsteps of his brother, but good friend and former rugby league player, Kyle Eastmond, who, after only a short time at Bath, has been fast-tracked into the England elite squad.