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| Full name | Joel Andrew Tomkins[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1987-03-21)21 March 1987 (age 38)[2] Warrington, Cheshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 16 st 3 lb (103 kg)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Centre, Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Relatives | Sam Tomkins (brother) Logan Tomkins (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joel Andrew Tomkins (born 21 March 1987) is an English professionalrugby league coach who is currently an assistant coach forCatalans Dragons.[9]
Tomkins was a duel code player, playing both rugby league andrugby union, playing as asecond-row forward for Wigan Warriors andCatalans Dragons in theSuper League, andSaracens in theEnglish Rugby Premiership. He has played has played for both theEngland national rugby league andrugby union team at international level.[4]
Tomkins was born inWarrington,Cheshire, England, but he was raised inWigan,Greater Manchester, England.
He is the eldest brother ofSam Tomkins andLogan Tomkins, who also both played rugby league.
In 2018 Joel and his brother, Sam, were filmed abusing bar staff in Wigan. The whole ordeal was filmed by the victims and the brothers were fined £10,000 and £5,000 respectively.
Tomkins is a formerSt. John Fisher player, where he played in theWigan Warriors' Academy at under-18's level in 2003. He was selected for the 2004 Academy Origin Series. Joel was one of the most highly rated talents in theWigan Warriors' Academy.
He primarily plays in thesecond-row, but he can also play as acentre,loose forward andprop.
In 2005, he was called up into the first-team at the age of 18 and he made his senior début for theWigan Warriors against theWidnes Vikings in March 2005. During 2005, Joel made another 12 appearances and scoring a total of 3 tries in the process. The talented youngster was given his chance at first-team level under coachIan Millward, who had become Head Coach of theWigan Warriors in 2005.
Tomkins started the first match of the 2006 season atloose forward, in a match against theCatalans Dragons which theWigan Warriors lost, 38–30. He was demoted to the bench for the second match of the season against theLeeds Rhinos. After 17-minutes he was brought from off the bench and scored a try with his first touch of the ball to give theWigan Warriors a 4–0 lead. TheWigan Warriors went onto lose the match, 16–24. In February 2006, Tomkins agreed a contract extension with theWigan Warriors which would keep him at the club until 2008. He started from the bench for the next two matches against theHuddersfield Giants and theSalford City Reds, but he was dropped to the Academy just shortly after. He later returned to the squad when he was named on the bench for theChallenge Cup fourth round match, against theWakefield Trinity Wildcats on 2 April 2006.
He also played in the next couple ofSuper League matches against theWakefield Trinity Wildcats andSt. Helens, before again being dropped to the Academy. Team Head CoachIan Millward was sacked in April 2006, because of the poor results from theWigan Warriors side. He was replaced byBrian Noble on 20 April 2006. TheWigan Warriors were bottom of theSuper League andNoble decided to play a more experienced squad, which meant that Tomkins would not make another appearance during 2006.
Tomkins started the 2007 season in theWigan Warriors' Senior Academy, where he was in good-form scoring 5 tries in one match againstHull Kingston Rovers' Academy. But despite this he was not called up into the first-team squad until 18 May 2007, for theSuper League match againstHull Kingston Rovers. Tomkins suffered an ankle injury during the match and was out for 2-weeks, before returning to theWigan Warriors' Senior Academy. He then later returned to theWigan Warriors first-team for the match against theCatalans Dragons on 15 June 2007.
On 27 July 2007, the 20-year-old joined theWidnes Vikings, initially on a month's long loan-deal, with a view to extending the deal to the end of the season.
Widnes Vikings Head CoachSteve McCormack said, "It's a really good signing for the Club. Joel has tremendous ability and experience".
He became a regular first-team player for theWigan Warriors during the 2008 season, he was a substitute in theWigan Warriors' first match of the season againstHarlequins RL. He was not included in theWigan Warriors squad for the next two games against theCastleford Tigers andHull Kingston Rovers, but he returned to the squad as a substitute for the match against theBradford Bulls in which he scored his first try in the 2008 season.
Despite a good performance against theBradford Bulls, he was not included in the squad for the next twoSuper League games, his place in the squad was taken byAustraliansecond-row,Phil Bailey. His next appearance was in theGood Friday derby match againstSt. Helens as a substitute. He kept his place in the squad for 13 consecutive games and he scored two more tries, one against theWarrington Wolves in theSuper League round 14 and the other against theCatalans Dragons in round 17.
Tomkins continued to be a presence in theWigan Warriors' 2009Super League season. He was successful in the 2010Super League season, lifting theLeague Leaders' Shield with theWigan Warriors.
Tomkins played in the2010 Super League Grand Final victory overSt. Helens atOld Trafford.[10]
He was then part of theWigan Warriors' side that lost the2011 World Club Challenge to theSt. George Illawarra Dragons.
Tomkins made five consecutive appearances at the start of the 2011Super League season, including the opening fixture againstSt. Helens, before being sent-off in a game againstHull F.C.
He received a two-match ban for the incident with hisbrotherSam, also banned for one-game.[11][12][13][14]
Tomkins returned and scored his first try of the season in round 8, against theLeeds Rhinos.[15]
His next tries came againstHull Kingston Rovers and theWakefield Trinity Wildcats in rounds 10 and 12.[16]
Tomkins played as acentre in the2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over theLeeds Rhinos atWembley Stadium. He scored a try after hisbrotherSam, sent him away down the wing to score.[17][18]
Tomkins fendedLeeds Rhinosscrum-halfDanny McGuire off and he side-stepped pastBrent Webb andCarl Ablett to score under the post's, after an eighty-metre sprint.
TheWigan Warriors won the game 28–18, giving Tomkins his firstChallenge Cup 'Winners' Medal.'
At the end of the2011 Super League season, Tomkins switched rugby codes after agreeing a £400,000 contract withSaracens, after a £250,000 release-fee was agreed with theWigan Warriors.[19]
Tomkins played as an outside centre in rugby union, making his debut in aLV= Cup win overWorcester Warriors in January 2012, scoring two tries.[20] He also scored on hisHeineken Cup debut againstEdinburgh atMurrayfield in October 2012,[21] and played in the semi-final defeat toRC Toulon atTwickenham the following April.[22]
On 18 June 2014, theWigan Warriors announced that they had re-signed Tomkins with immediate effect.[23]
He played in the2014 Super League Grand Final defeat bySt. Helens atOld Trafford.[24][25][26]
He played in the2015 Super League Grand Final defeat by theLeeds Rhinos atOld Trafford.[27]
Tomkins was victorious in his third consecutive grand final in2016. He also claimed victory in the2017 World Club Challenge, against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks by a score of 22–6. Tomkins' final game for theWigan Warriors came in a 23–0Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat on 2 June 2018, by theWarrington Wolves.[28]
On 4 June 2018, Tomkins was banned from playing for four weeks and fined £10,00, affter footage posted onsocial media wentviral of him abusing bar staff in aWigan public house. His brotherSam was also fined £5,000 for his more limited role in the incident. Tomkins himself tendered his resignation toWigan Warriors' Rugby General ManagerKris Radlinski, which was accepted by all parties involved.
Following his resignation from Wigan, Tomkins signed an 18-month contract to play forHull Kingston Rovers atCraven Park until the end of the 2019 seasom, despite interest from other rivalSuper League clubs.[29]
On 17 June 2018, Tomkins made hisHull Kingston Rovers'Super League début in a 24–24 draw, against theCastleford Tigers at theMend-A-Hose Jungle.
On 29 June 2018, Joel bagged his first try forHull Kingston Rovers on his home début atCraven Park against theHuddersfield Giants, in a 37–10Super League victory.
It was revealed on 24 November 2018, that Tomkins had penned a new three-year contract extension to remain atHull Kingston Rovers until at least the end of the 2021rugby league season.
It was revealed on 11 January 2019, that Joel was appointed as captain atHull Kingston Rovers ahead of the start of the 2019Super League season.[30]
In October 2019, he signed a two-year deal to joinCatalans Dragons starting in 2020.[31]
During Catalans elimination final victory over Leeds in the 2020 Super League playoffs, Tomkins was placed on report after inappropriate contact with Leeds playerRichie Myler.[32]
On 18 November, Tomkins was suspended for eight matches and fined £500 after he was found guilty of inappropriate contact.[33]
On 9 October 2021, Tomkins played for Catalans in their2021 Super League Grand Final defeat against St. Helens.[34]
On 18 November 2021, Tomkins announced his retirement from professional rugby, after initially signing a contract to joinChampionship clubLeigh Centurions[35][36] for the2022 season.
Tomkins made his senior international debut forEngland in 2010, a mid-season test againstFrance.[37][38] Tomkins was an interchange forward in a game notable for his brother Sam scoring four tries, and would be Joel's only international appearance against a national team on home soil. In autumn, the brothers were selected for the2010 Rugby League Four Nations inAustralia andNew Zealand.[39] Tomkins played in a pre-tournament draw againstNew Zealand Maori,[40] before featuring in both losses toNew Zealand[41] andAustralia.[42]
In 2011, Tomkins was selected for England in the inauguralInternational Origin against a selection of non-English Super League players. Tomkins started from the bench but scored his first international try, as the home side lost 12-16.[43][44] At the end of the season, Tomkins asked to be omitted from England's2011 Rugby League Four Nations squad for personal reasons, ultimately switching codes while the tournament was in progress.[45][46]
After returning from rugby union, Tomkins returned to the England squad for the2014 Rugby League Four Nations, again in Australia and New Zealand.[47] He started all three matches in the tournament,[48][49] and scored his second international try againstSamoa in the opening game atSuncorp Stadium.[50]
In 2013, Tomkins was called up for the first of his two caps for the second-stringEngland Saxonsrugby union team.[51]
Starting at outside centre in both tests, Tomkins enjoyed initial success against theIreland Wolfhounds in a closely contested match, ending in a 14–10 victory for theEngland Saxons.[52]
However a week later, Tomkins experienced his first taste of defeat in a union white shirt by a strongScotland A team, who ran-out winners 9–13, in a rain-swept match set inNewcastle.[53]
Following Tomkins' good-form for theSaracens in the 2013–2014 season and an injury toManu Tuilagi, Tomkins was selected for theEngland elite player squad for the2013 Autumn International Series.[54]
He won his début cap in a 20–13 victory overAustralia,[55] playing the full 80 minutes to regain theCook Cup. The following week, Tomkins again played for the duration againstArgentina,[56] before leaving the field injured with four minutes remaining against theAll Blacks in his third and final appearance for England.[57]
| Season | Team | Apps | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Wigan Warriors | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2006 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Widnes Vikings (loan) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2008 | Wigan Warriors | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 2009 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |
| 2010 | 34 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 68 | |
| 2011 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |
| 2014 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2015 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 2018 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2019 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 427 | 87 | 3 | 2 | 356 | |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/44377904
