Wigan rugby league great Sam Tomkins mic'd up for new documentary

Granada Reports sports correspondent Mike Hall spoke to rugby league player, Sam Tomkins, about the documentary.

A new documentary about the life and career of rugby league great Sam Tomkins is set to premiere in his hometown of Wigan.

Sam, 34, has now retired from playing, but had a glittering career which saw him win three Super League Grand Finals with Wigan Warriors in 2010, 2013, and 2018, as well as two Challenge Cup finals in 2011 and 2013.

He is also a two-time Man of Steel recipient - the award for the rugby league footballer of the year - earning the title in 2012 and 2021.

Sam, a product of the Wigan Warriors academy, finished his career as captain of England national team before continuing for a final season with Catalans Dragons in the Super League in 2023.

His final game as a player was on 14 October, when he played in Catalans 2023 Grand Final loss against his former club Wigan.

It was during these final games Tomkins agreed to have a microphone put on his shirt for a documentary, so people would be able to hear what is going through a player's mind.

Sam said: "It is exactly what goes on, the good and the bad on the field which spectators don't get to see.

"They see it from 50 metres away in the stand or on the TV screen, so it was an opportunity to take people right into the thick of it."

When asked if he recognises himself when he watched it back Sam said: "It's strange, a lot of funny things came out of it because in the heat of the battle you don't know what you're saying.

"Some of things which have come back, either that I've said, or the players around, a lot of it is quite comical."

Sam told ITV News he wanted to do the documentary to show the "real side"of rugby league.

"We play a very physical sport, it is gladiatorial, and one of the main things about this was it being authentic.

"I don't really mind what people think of me, I am pretty thick-skinned, which I think I've had to develop over years of playing.

"I just think people know Sam Tomkins the rugby league player, but they don't know Sam Tomkins the husband and the dad-of-four.

"Sometimes athletes get put on a pedestal, and you think that's all they are but that's certainly not the case."

Sam's career as a player ended with little fanfare befitting a player who has achieved so much, but he said he has made peace with that.

"Losing my last ever game was heartbreaking, but when I look at the bigger picture of my career I've been very very lucky," he said.

"I've been able to play for my hometown club, go and live in New Zealand and play there, and in France for the last five years so I've ticked a lot of boxes, but it was tough to get over that last defeat."

Sam admits he would still love to be playing, but it was a knee injury which forced him into retirement.

He said: "I'm 34-years-old, I've been playing since I was 17. It was inevitable at some point something would stop me."

The documentary "Tomkins, The Last Chance" will have its premier at The Edge in Wigan on 28 February.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Sam, England RL head coach and former Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane, and players including Josh Charnley.

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