Aye. It was Carl Ablett if memory serves.

Can you give an example of a game where Tomkins has been smashed, and thus 'not liking it up him' has gone on to play badly?

I'm not suggesting that he plays badly, just that his threat can be neutralised with disciplined defence.

I thought Featherstone did a decent job of containing him for example - they got up on him quickly and closed him down and as a result, he had a pretty quiet game by his own standards. Equally, he was poor against Australia in the 4N.

Ironically, the only team in SL that could probably shut him out of a game at present is Wigan.

I can't see how anyone with a brain could say such a thing - so you know this how, exactly

And yours is going crying to the mods when you get any stick. Boo Hoo! Boo Hoo!

The David Howell one the year before was even worse (Elbow to the head Off the ball/after the ref had blown for a penalty when he wouldn't have been expecting it).

There's been plenty who've tried to do it and 1 or 2 who've got there. he still comes back for more.

Any opposition fan will only see highlights of Wigan games, and the televisied whole games, so you won't have seen how all teams try to get at Sam. Sam gets plenty of hits, and dirty niggle, its just that when he reacts, anybody other than Wigan fans get all "Holier than thou". Two problems with poop house tactics

1. He is a damn sight tougher and stronger than many opposition fans give him credit for.
2. You have to catch him to clatter him.

Matt King snotted him a few times in the Cup semi-final at Widnes in 2009. Warrington got him to throw a right mard in that game by winding him up continually and he was ineffective.

I think he's a lot wiser and more immune to that sort of treatment now though.

The thing is with Tomkins is that it is much easier said than done to hit him with a big shot. He has such good balance and agility that most that try end up loking stupid and he waltzes past them. He is also a damn site stronger than you would think.

Talented kid, hopefully sees the errors of his ways and joins his boyhood club were he used to watch his hero Alfie Langer.

This 'big hit' stuff is nonsense. What would - and has in the past and will again - neutralise his effectivenss is a well-disciplined defence keeping their shape. Wigan pulled Leeds' defence apart because Leeds were completely ill-disciplined and simply not up for it (check out Wigan's first try for a classic example of soft defence).

If Tomkins were in the NRL he'd have to pick his moments a lot more carefully. Against Australia last year he had his moments, but struggled (along with the rest of the team) when Australia stepped up a gear. That's probably the only thing that would stop him being a star in the NRL from game 1 - the ability to be patient and yet alert for the rarer opportunities he'd get.

In any event he's a super talent and whether in SL or NRL, I hope he stays in RL.

Correct. Even at the low amateur level I played, I can't think of a single player ( one who stuck around for a few years I mean ) who hid away after taking a big hit. For anyone with the right attitude for Rugby, a bit hit gets you going, not the other way around. Obviously, if you're actually injured by a tackle, that's going to slow you down, but that can happen in any tackle, big or small.

I can't imagine that any player who's come through the amateur ranks ( where very dirty, much bigger and older players get up to all sorts ) and has then proved good enough to take on far superior athletes at pro level, would ever find a big hit 'intimidating' such as to make them hide away.

The way Australia stopped him was restriciting where and when he got the ball imo. They had England pinned back and he never really got many good starting points with ball in hand imo. Trouble is in SL the rest of our team build a good platform for him to perform and there isnt many if any teams at the moment who will pin us back for a large period of the game like Aus did to England.

Australia stopped Sam Tomkins? Big deal. The best team in the world should be able to stop the best players and they often do.