There are undoubtedly plenty of opportunities awaiting Sam Tomkins when his glittering playing career comes to an end on Saturday evening. But, given the manner in which the past few months have played out, he would be well inclined to consider script-writing: not even Hollywood could have predicted the way this particular story has drawn to a close.
Six months or so ago, Tomkins was ready to call time on his career. He saw four knee specialists after England’s Rugby League World Cup campaign last year, who all told him the same thing: retire immediately. “I thought I knew better than those specialists,” he says. He underwent an operation to try to get him through one final year as a Catalans Dragons player, but minutes into his first game of this season, he knew there was a problem.
