SAM MEATS HIS MATCH

Man of Steel Tomkins knew he had to say yes when Catalans owner – butcher Bernard Guasch – asked him to sign: If I’d said no I might have ended up in the sausages!

WHEN Sam Tomkins listened to the sales pitch from Catalans owner and butcher Bernard Guasch in mid-2018, he knew he had to say yes.

“I went to meet him at his abattoir and I didn’t know what to expect,” smiled Tomkins. “If I’d have given him a no that day I might have ended up in the sausages.”

Three years on, and the newlycrowned Steve Prescott Man of Steel, who is expected to overcome a knee injury to start at full-back today, knows he made the right choice.

Tomkins had a four-year offer on the table to stay at his boyhood club Wigan but encouraged by the passion of Guasch and assured planning of his old England coach Steve Mcnamara, he chose the south of France.

“It was one or the other and it wasn’t a money decision, the money was very similar,” recalled Tomkins.

“It came down to me wanting a change but that opportunity to change along with a club that was on the rise.

“It was an easy sell for me and I was always confident that we could be successful over those next three years.

“So far we’ve been close and this year is one where we can seal that.”

Now, as the Dragons prepare for their maiden Grand Final against St Helens at Old Trafford tonight, Tomkins is so entrenched in life in the region that he cannot see him and his family – which includes four children under the age of six – moving home any time soon.

He said: “I love Wigan, the town, the people, and I’ve got a lot of friends and family there. But the reason I came to France was because I’d been to New

Zealand and enjoyed living somewhere different. The challenges you face, the things you learn about living somewhere else in the world.

“I still had that urge to experience something different. It was a dream come true that there was a club in a beautiful, amazing part of the world that had a rugby team, and I’m still back in Wigan to pick up my Heinz beans every two weeks.”

Tomkins has been a key component in the Dragons’ transformation from fringe competitors to genuine title contenders over the last three years.

Mcnamara’s side memorably lifted the Challenge Cup in 2018 but only in the last two seasons has their league form reached the level of consistency required to be in poll position for a Grand Final.

“Everyone’s opinion of us has changed slightly over the last few years,” said Tomkins. “Catalans has always been known as a team with potential but potential doesn’t win you anything, does it?

“They’ve had some big signings over the years but probably not the right signings looking back.

“Everyone’s opinion is changing to: ‘They’re a team that’s pretty decent and quite consistent now.’ “Last year we finished fourth, all we got was stick like, ‘You’ve not played enough games.’ This year we finished top and played among the most games in the league.”

Although the Dragons lag behind Saints in terms of title-winning experience, Tomkins is one of five men on their side that have tasted Old Trafford glory before.

Aiming for a fourth personal triumph, he says this would rank alongside any of the others.

“I had three Grand Final wins at Wigan – 2010 was the first, 2013 was the double, and 2018 my last ever game for Wigan,” he said.

“That was special. This one we have the chance to win the first Grand Final for a club, ever.

“That’s got to rank up there, although it’s a bit like which one of your kids do you love the most?

“This would be as high as anything I have done before.”

For tickets and information on the Grand Final go to www.superleague.co.uk