Saturday, 20 July 2013

Confident: Sam Tomkins says England will win this year"s World Cup on home soil


By

Sam Tomkins




PUBLISHED:


15:07, 18 July 2013




|

UPDATED:


15:07, 18 July 2013



In my last column I predicted the Lions would win the deciding Test and Andy Murray would triumph at Wimbledon. I was right on both counts.


So with it being 100 days to go until the start of Rugby League World Cup 2013 on Thursday, I’m going to predict that England will win the tournament.


We aren’t favourites, Australia are and there’s no hiding that but if we can field a fully fit squad it’s ours for the taking.


Confident: Sam Tomkins says England will win this year


Confident: Sam Tomkins says England will win this year’s World Cup on home soil


Holders: New Zealand perform the Haka after winning the last World Cup in 2008


Holders: New Zealand perform the Haka after winning the last World Cup in 2008


Talking of the Australians, we are doing quite well against them at the moment, aren’t we? What a win the cricket team pulled off last week.


Although cricket is not my sport I have kept an eye on it and taken pride in mentioning it to our resident Aussies in the Wigan team when things are going well.


Pat Richards, who has some Irish blood in him, has conveniently ignored his roots Down Under this week. It’s his way of ducking the stick us English lads are giving him.


Their cricket team seems to be in a bit of turmoil reading about the divisions in the squad.


Fortunately I’ve never been part of a team that isn’t united on and off the pitch. I don’t think any side can reach its peak when there are fractions in the dressing room, people stabbing each other in the back. That’s not what team sport is about, yes, not everyone will see eye to eye all the time but no player is bigger than the team.


I wasn’t actually aware it was 100 days to go until the start of the tournament until someone told me the other day. It’s very exciting to hear but we are really into the thick of it on the domestic front and all of my focus is currently on that.


Of course the World Cup is massive and I’m excited to have the opportunity to perform on home soil but there are other things to take care of before that.


For starters, we are into the Tetley’s Challenge Cup semi-final and on a personal front it was great to get back playing after a few weeks out because of injury.


We gave Widnes a bit of hammering so I was able to come off just after half-time which our coach Shaun Wane had planned all along.


Getting it right: Sam predicted the Lions would defeat Australia and that Andy Murray (below) would win Wimbledon


Getting it right: Sam predicted the Lions would defeat Australia and that Andy Murray (below) would win Wimbledon


Andy Murray wins Wimbledon


Now it’s a trip to the Leigh Sports Village to take on the London Broncos. Admittedly, if there was a team we could have played in the semi-finals we would have chosen the Broncos but this game is the difference between their season being a complete flop or a memorable one.


We will be doing our best to make it a washout but given this is already a cup final for them they are a threat.


I hope this isn’t the year the Broncos make it to Wembley but I do want to see it happen soon. A successful club in London is imperative for Super League and they are probably the only team outside of Wigan I would ever consider playing for if things were a little different down there.


My hope is that we take on Warrington in the final at Wembley; that would be the dream. They are probably the form side in the tournament at the moment but that makes me want to play them more.


Before I get carried away talking about

the cup our next league match is against St Helens. There is a bit of a

gap between us and Saints at present but in this fixture the form

book goes out the window.


Try: Sam Tomkins touches down against Widnes to help Wigan into the Tetley


Try: Sam Tomkins touches down against Widnes to help Wigan into the Tetley’s Challenge Cup semi-finals


Nando


Some Wigan fans come up to me in the street when I’m doing my shopping and tell me that they’d rather beat St Helens than win the league. That’s how important it is to people up here.


To celebrate that the World Cup being only 100 days away, 100 rugby league balls are being hidden across the country. Keep an eye out on Twitter for clues and if you find a ball you will win a pair of tickets to a game at the tournament.


Not a bad prize in my mind. You might be lucky enough to find a ball that has tickets to see England play.


Athletics has been rocked in the last week by two of the biggest names failing drug tests. It is so damaging for the sport but these people must be exposed to try and preserve the sport for future generations. 


There is no place for it in any sport and those that are using performance-enhancing drugs are taking the place of those that deserve a shot.


Bradley Wiggins and now Chris Froome, face constant questions about whether they are on drugs all because Lance Armstrong has tarnished the sport. I’m not surprised they’ve both reacted with choice words; if I was them I’d get fed up having to defend my reputation.


We are pretty lucky in rugby league, there have been instances in the past where people have tested positive but very rarely now.


I’m tested once a month and have to tell the testers where I will be for one hour of everyday a month in advance.


It’s a strict process but I’m happy to do it if it keeps my sport clean.


Prize: To celebrate the World Cup being 100 days away, 100 rugby league balls are being hidden across the country. Keep an eye on Twitter for clues and if you find a ball you


Prize: To celebrate the World Cup being 100 days away, 100 rugby league balls are being hidden across the country. Keep an eye on Twitter for clues and if you find a ball you’ll win a pair of tickets to a game at the tournament


The Sam Tomkins column is brought to you in association with Nando’s. For more information visit http://www.nandos.co.uk/







The comments below have not been moderated.



Mr Sam Tomkins, any chance of a loan deal, pop down to the Broncos for a season? please…….



TommoGOONER

,


London, United Kingdom,

20/7/2013 12:29


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Hey Sam is there any other way you can can get more union references and photos into your column? Some newspapers sideline RL, some ignore RL and other use RL to promote other sports, well done!



terrortorn

,


Antarctica, United Kingdom,

19/7/2013 09:00


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I will say this, with the Burgess bro`s, James Graham and a few smaterings of super league talent, we have a Very capable pack. Imagine being hit up set after set by George Burgess, only to find Sam was waiting on the bench hahaha



Mickey

,


Leeds,

18/7/2013 19:56


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Good work again Sam. I’ve just spent a couple of days in the company of a ardent Auusie RLfan who was sick that he was in the UK and missing Origin. What amazed me was that he really couldn’t care less about the World Cup. His team (Manly) and SoO were all that mattered and I think most Aussies feel the same. Sad, sad state of affairs and little wonder RL has failed to raise awareness of this great sport when the game’s powerhouse is happy in its insular little world.



Davy Boy

,


Halifax, United Kingdom,

18/7/2013 16:59


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Article source: http://www.dunstabletoday.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/ex-dees-star-skelcey-named-in-england-u18s-squad-1-5299917


Confident: Sam Tomkins says England will win this year"s World Cup on home soil
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