It's probably because he would get done in. I think he'd be straight in if somebody were to lay on the floor unprotected though, he'd be straight in there looking to drop the elbow.

As an aside all this hoo-haa and hand-wringing over the booing is hiding the fact that as the team's supposed biggest attacking threat Tomkins offered absolutely nothing in attack.

I acknowledge he was very good in last ditch defence but his kick returns offered nothing and his linking into the attacking line non-existent. No doubt if we'd have played against France he would have scored a hat-trick at least and be even more of a deity with Wigan fans. However the Exiles offered a more difficult conumdrum to crack and were a step-up from a Super League defence. The experience of recognising that international games required something over and above the week to week norm from England players if they are to be successful is hopefully one lesson the squad will learn from last night.

great post..one hell of a horrible player but to boo him is just out of order..if he just got on with playing rugby and stopped the rule bending he`d get far more respect off people..

Giving him the ball would be an option instead of giving it Sinfield every play.

Actually he was booed after giving the coffee beans hand gesture before that it was just insults about his wages.

Personally i think it was a joke that Tomkins was getting the stick he did, it was probably a load of chavs who were p1ssed on shandy, the Rhinos need to look at the ratio of beer to lemonade that they are serving in their shandies.

RLFans made-up fact of the day

Really, well i was about 20 feet away from King when he did it and about 10 foot from the guys who were saying it, but you carry on with your i'm better than everyone else on here attitude.
Knowing people at the club doesn't make you any more of a fan and superior to everyone else mate.

As much as i hate Sam Tomkins it was wrong to boo him. Couldnt get over it, were they Leeds fans ?

I would never boo an England player

This

So you're not a fan then



All teams, in all sports at some stage have players like that, and if he didn't play for Wigan I'd hate him too.

I genuinely don't get the booing though - I've hated Sean Long for over a decade (as is my job as Wigan fan), but when he put the England/GB jersey on he got support like every other player. Admittedly, it was a bit of a relief at Full Time when you can go back to hating him in good conscience

I was just telling the gliding warrior bloke why people don't like him, as he said nobody ever provides reasons.

Never heard of him kicking a player in the face as he got up to play the ball. Disciplinary must have come down on him like a tonne of bricks for that one eh? how long did he get? Never seen him punch Westwood either, though funnily enough I did see Westwood punch him. Not sure what you mean by "starting" on Matt King. It's all gone a bit vague again hasn't it. Maybe you could post some video links so I know exactly what you're on about. Otherwise shall we assume you're just talking out your ?

Sorry to go against the grain but i found it midly amusing. Given that the game itself was largely dull I cant blame the fans for making their own entertainment and i guess Sam, given his cheating ways, is an easy target. Im sure if was a proper test game against the aussies or kiwis then there would have been none of it.

Not at vague at all. So you've never seen him kick out as he's getting up to play the ball and catch somebody in the face? Done it loads of time and been warned by the RFL. He punched Westwood before Ben cracked him. CC semi at Widnes in 2009 he started on Matt King after the ball had gone dead, King laughed at him. Check avatar. I'll excuse you from missing that as most Wigan fans missed the game. I don't need to post video links as all these incidents are fact pal. I'll put it down to you either being A) Incredibly biased B) Thick as foook. I apologise in advance for embarassing you and making you look an utter bellend.

Think this is a very honest post. I actually cant stand Sam on the pitch (and it most definitely hasn't got anything to do with his talent), its the side of him that pops up here and there with his boarder line cheating (and yes you all know what I mean so I'm not going into details before someone asks me to). But I do think he seems a nice lad when I hear him speak in interviews. As for the treatment he got last night it was out of order as he had an England shirt on his back, not Wigan. I wonder if the same boo boys would be dishing it out to him if he scored the winning try in a world cup final against the Aussies? I know it goes against the grain cheering for any Wigan player but they are all playing for our country and if it was really that hard to show support for players from other teams then these people should have kept silent or better still stayed at home and voiced their opinions in their own front rooms.

His attitude has caused this. I have cheered on Farrell, Sculthorpe even Long over the years when on the international scene but i find it hard to cheer Tomkins. Dont have any time for the lad and the way he goes about it on field, he is a great player but has the attitude of a poor sh**bag player you will come across in the lower leagues of north west counties where they are just after a fight.

Option B I reckon.

I seriously don't get the Sam hatred thing. Kicking out in the tackle? Are you talking about the time someone lifted his leg as he was doing it to make it look 100x worse? (and they did lift it, no doubt about it). Westwood threw the first dig at Sam there, no doubt about it.

Sam bends the rules with holding people down and such, but is that worse than McGuire purposefully tripping someone off the ball? Or Ablett/Howell elbowing Tomkins in the face at full speed? People say he feigns injury, but yet when he inevitably gets smashed high/late he just gets up and carries on, and makes the opposition pay for it with his performance.

People talk about how Tomkins talks to the ref, Kevin Sinfield does that constantly throughout every game, James Graham shouts and swears at referees, they don't get booed.

Sure, Sam does things that will inevitably wind people up, but there are so many other players in the league that do things far, far worse, and yet not a single one of them would get booed playing for England. It's because people don't like him because he's good, and they try to justify "hating" him by trying to blow other things out of proportion.

As for the lad himself, if anyones ever met him off the field, he's a fairly quiet guy, pretty humble about himself and always has time for fans. None of this cocky arrogance that fans like to make up about him.

When Sam first started playing first grade, while Noble was still at Wigan, he would routinely kick out in the tackle, and kick high too. I remember watching one televised game (not against us) when Ganson told him off about it (love him or hate him, Ganson is our most astute ref and he got the measure of Sam early on). Many players kick out in the tackle but Sam did it routinely at that time. He doesn't do it as recklessly as he first did it but it earned him a reputation early on. His arm trapping was another, which most refs fell for but do so no longer, and going in with the knees on the tackle is another. The trouble is that because of that early reputation anything he now does simply adds fuel to the fire.


Yes. He would be a better player if he stopped concerning himself with doing that, not least because he is so obvious. Making the rules work for you by being creative is a far better way of playing the game and he would get respect for that. As it is he has opted to play a dirtier game, if you like, than a cleverer one. But maybe Sam doesn't actually have any rugby guile?

It's all gone too far for me,.

Dislike the lad myself. Very good (long way to go before called great) player.
His silly childish antics get peoples back up.

But this booing has actually made me feel for the kid. Playing for your country should not be like it was for him.

Anyone can express their opinion, and paying fans have a right to boo if they want.

However, my opinion is that its childish and brings the game of RL into disrepute. part of the reason i love this game is the respect within it.

If that goes then i may follow.

Except for the fact nobody booed James Graham. Infact, nobody booed anyone but Sam Tomkins. Pretty sure Tomkins wasn't the only Wigan player or the only player who's disliked.

That he was booed just speaks volumes about how bad he is. And hopefully it's a wake up call to the little rat.

Some people have morals that come before blind patriotism. You blokes sat around reading the Daily Mail might easily be able to lose yourself in the red and white, for others we have a strict code of ethics and values that come before a half-d Rugby League game and a trivial English team.

Be thankful that booing is the only stage it's gotten to. If he doesn't change his act you'll literally see games boycotted.

What a vile human being, hopefully the message sinks into his ugly head.

RU has nobody in the game comparable to Tomkins, and their international games actually matter. There's a slight difference.

The only thing i can think of as to why the fans were booing Sam Tomkins is because he's isn't english, he's from Milton Keynes. It won't be because he plays for Wigan as i didn't hear his brother or Sean O'Loughlin getting boos and neither did Pat Richards or Leuluai.

Respect to most of the Wire fans on here (apart from Nikaed, what a loser) You lot have just gone above the Leeds fans in my 'fans i respect the most' table