Wigan Warriors icon Sam Tomkins makes immediate retirement call: 'For good this time!'
Former Wigan Warriors star Sam Tomkins has made the decision to hang up his boots with immediate effect following a stellar career at the highest level.
The 36-year-old and Catalans Dragons have mutually agreed to bring an early end to his contract.
Tomkins, a two-time Man of Steel winner, initially retired following the 2023 Super League Grand Final, when the Dragons went down to a 10-2 defeat against his former club Wigan at Old Trafford.
However, the legendary fullback agreed to return to the field midway through last year to help the Dragons following a difficult period with injuries.
The former England captain later extended his contract for 2025, but his season has been hampered by injuries, being limited to just eight appearances this season, scoring six tries, with his older brother Joel having taken charge of the Dragons on a permanent basis following the departure of Steve McNamara.
"Today I am announcing I have retired… for good this time!” Tomkins said.
"Thanks to Bernard (Guasch, Catalans owner) for this opportunity and all the players, staff and supporters for what has been an amazing seven years full of great memories.”
Tomkins will go down as one of the greatest players Super League has seen, having scored more than 200 tries across a stellar playing career.
The Milton Keynes-born fullback came through the famed youth ranks at Wigan before making his first-team debut in 2008, scoring five tries in a win over Whitehaven in the Challenge Cup.
Tomkins scored 168 tries in 213 appearances for Wigan between 2008 and 2018, with a two-year spell in the NRL with New Zealand Warriors in between. He won three Super League titles, two League Leaders’ Shields, two Challenge Cups and a World Club Challenge title with the Cherry and Whites.
The former England star has spent the past seven seasons in the south of France with the Dragons, scoring 41 tries in 118 games, making him the third-highest points scorer in the club’s history. Tomkins helped the Dragons reach the Super League Grand Final on two occasions, whilst inspiring the French club to clinch the League Leaders’ Shield in 2021.
Tomkins was also named in the Super League Dream Team eight times throughout his career (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2021 and 2023).