This illiusion of tomkins being crap internationally is nothing but bull being made up of fans who decided they dont like him running rings around there best players. look at billy slater he hardly makes these amazing runs at international level every time he plays and hes playing in alot better set up,,, cant remember what game it was but sam had lockyer in hes pocket all game at the dw and skinned him on a few aswell.

If you truely believe sam isnt if not the best player in the england set up well you might aswell give up trying to understand rugby league.. your like this ref at widnes st marries who told him to shut up as he knows nothing about rugby league obvs not knowing who he was at the time (just started playing regularly for wigan at the time)

Tomkins has been nothing more than average in the few games he's played for England so far. He's only had 2 full seasons and he'll ge better, but so far he's not been close to living up to the hype bestowed upon him, and to compare him to Slater at this stage is laughable, Slater is arguably the best FB of all time and has torn England apart on many ocasion . He's not Englands best player either. Englands best player is out injured.

But that's like saying that England players are awesome because they rip apart Wales or France.

Australia are a much better team than England, Tomkins won't get a fifth of the opportunities that the likes of Slater does. Put slater at 1 for England and Tomkins at 1 for Australia and we'll see who performs better. BTW not saying that Tomkins is better than Slater, just that comparing performances at Test level is not the best measure IMHO.

My favourite Slater performance was when he single-handedly won the World Cup Final for New Zealand

I think it was hes first full season at wigan and they was playing at DW, he stepped lockyer 3 or 4 times and wrapped him up on a few as it was 6v6 then as he wasn't playing fullback. i think billy slater is immense and i support the storm as my NRL team as they have strong connection to wigan just as i'll be watching the bunnies alot more next season as madge is there coach, i wasn't making a comparision between the two what i was stating is that you cant expect him to go on these jinking runs and beat everybody all the time just as billy slater doesn't at international level and he makes some huge mistakes also,,, but to call tomkins poor is just laughable. Because so many fans dislike him they are constantly looking for negatives to try and make them selfs believe he isn't good. England should feel lucky to have him because whos the alternates?

Billy Slater?? Billy "Choke" Slater!? Is the best full back of all time???

I said it was arguable. Certainly not many better,

minchello in hes prime wasn't error prone and radlinksi,, But slater is the best full back right now with out a doubt.

Fairs dos

Minichello's prime lasted what? 2-3 years? He spent most of his test career on the wing. As for Rad-f-in-linski being better than Slater, that is just about the most ridiculous statement ever made on here. You'll be telling me Shaun Edwards was better than Thurston next.

Slater on one leg is better than Radlinski ever was.

I was sat almost in line with that ridiculous Slater throw to Benji at the Suncorp, and I can honestly say it's the funniest thing I've ever seen in an RL match. Absolutely brilliant.

England may have been utter tripe in the '08 World Cup, but it was worth going over there just for the final. Terrific game. Brilliant to see so many Aussies depressed at the end. A chap in a Kiwi jumper sat by us held up a sign at the end that said "DREAMS DO COME TRUE". Damn right. One of these days an England team might fulfill our dreams (though I won't be putting any money on it!)

I wish a had a quid for every time I've heard or read someone claim to have been at that final, I reckon I'd have almost a million pounds by now.

I know what you mean, of the 900 odd who attended the Hull FC v Huyton game in the 70's, I seem to have met about 10,000 of them

It's like people who claimed to be in the SAS and one of the ones on that balcony when that embassy in london was stormed all those years ago. I saw a doco about it and one of the blokes who was actually there said that balcony must have been the size of an aircraft carrier if all the ones he has heard claim to have been on it actually were

Really? There were over 50k there, and the RL community is quite a tight one, so not sure why you are so surpirsed that some people on here were at the World Cup Final.

I was one of the thousands of England fans that the Aussie press incorrectly stated had left the country and sold their tickets for the final when England were knocked out.

One of my favourite RL memories ever.

Hopefully NZ do them then England experience a miracle and find a way to beat them, would be soooooooooo funny to see a final without Australia in it!

Almost happened a few years ago IIRC, England were already through to the final and in their final game the Kiwis scored in the corner just before the hooter to level the game against the Aussies (at the then McAlpine), conversion missed by inches which would have seen Eng v NZ. Australia won in extra time! Gutted wasn't the word.....!!

When was that?
Is this based on fact or your wishful imagination?
England has made the final in the tri/quad nations twice.

2004 and 2009 in neither cases was there a chance that Australia crept in by a missed goal.
In both cases Australia won the final against GB/England by a very substantial amount.

Brian Carney agrees www.nrl.com/inglis-to-miss-four- ... fault.aspx

Brian Carney agrees www.nrl.com/inglis-to-miss-four- ... fault.aspx

hardly a brave prediction!

It's not wishful imagination apart from the "few years ago" brain fart. It was actually pre-Super League - the 1995 World Cup Semi Final at Huddersfield. Australia won 30-20 after extra time. It finished 20-20 after 80 minutes. Matthew Ridge missed the conversion for the Kiwis by some distance but had a drop goal attempt to win the game which just narrowly went wide of the post.

I did not realise a "few" years ago was 16 years ago well before the Tri or Quad Nations concept.
Fair go though it happened some time back.
I was young then and have forgotten the match, that happens as time moves on and England are still waiting for their moment.
I should have remembered this, I worked with Turban head when he was the Manly Junior development officer back in the day.

What about them who say they were in the SAS and attended that final plus watched Warrington win the 2011 GF.

1995? Jesus Christ!!