PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM! Burgess tells axed Tomkins: You’ll be back for England... keep doing what you’re doing
JOE BURGESS has backed Wigan team-mate Sam Tomkins to overcome his England snub and return to the international stage.
Tomkins was a notable omission from Wayne Bennett’s elite performance squad earlier this month after eye-catching early season form.
The Warriors full-back was again overlooked when Kevin Brown announced his international retirement last week — with Brown’s place not currently being filled.
But Burgess believes it is only a matter of time before Tomkins finds himself back in an England shirt.
Burgess said: “They’ve more or less kept the same squad as the World Cup, and give him his time, he’ll be straight back in it.
“He’s finding his old form again — when he scored the long-range try against Widnes recently I was joking with him telling him it was vintage Tomkins again.
“He didn’t have a full pre-season last year and that does show. But he’s getting back to himself and he’s a lot more experienced now as well — he has more leadership about him.
“I never actually played with him in 2013 when he was going so well, but I was watching him all the time and to see him coming back to that is a really good sign. It’s good for the team as well.”
Burgess himself has earned recognition for his performances with a call-up to the England Knights squad — even though he has three senior caps himself from 2015.
Burgess said: “I didn’t know anything about it until it was announced because I missed the call off [coach] Paul Anderson.
“I was absolutely buzzing off it, really happy with it. I’ve been in the England set-up before but it was at a really young age, I was 19.
“That was after my best year, and Paul has told me this is a stepping stone to get back into the full England squad.
“Getting picked for the Knights gives you confidence and shows you’re being watched.
“The competition we have at Wigan helps — it keeps you on your toes and playing well.” Before Burgess or Tomkins can think about England there is a mouthwatering Super League clash at Castleford today.
Warriors coach Shaun Wane has labelled his side’s recent visits to the Mend-a-Hose Jungle as “abysmal”.
Burgess added: “To go there is never an easy task — not just the pitch but the fans are right next to you and you get all
kinds of stick. “They’ve still got the same shapes they had and will still throw a lot at us. “I imagine we’ll get a lot of traffic down our side this week. “We’ll be ready for what they can throw at us. It’s always a tough one.”