It's a shambles says Sam - Tomkins calls time on 2020's "total mess"

[josie andrews]

SAM TOMKINS can’t wait to see the back of 2020 – a season that he says has turned into “a shambles”.
Currently recovering from Covid, locked down at his home like the rest of France under strict new government rules, the 31-year-old Catalans Dragons full-back admits the past nine months have been the most challenging of his career.

“It’s massively frustrating,” he told Catalan Media: “And it’s the same for all players, clubs, fans and broadcasters, everybody’s in the same boat.

“The worst part is the unknown, there have been so many changes and probably more changes to come before the end of the year so that’s the worst bit, not actually knowing where you stand and how the season’s going to play out.”

The stop-start nature of the season, last minute fixture cancellations and rule changes have taken their toll, according to Tomkins who said players were bracing themselves for another major change following today’s (Monday) Super League meeting where a re-jigged play-off system is on the agenda.

“The whole season is a shambles really,” said Tomkins: “Decisions are being made this week and every club wants a different scenario going to the end of the year. Some clubs have bigger voices than others so we will just have to wait and see what comes of the meeting.

“Whatever it changes to, we’ll just have to get on with it. That’s been the message for the whole season, you have to deal with whatever changes come your way and that’s what we have done, like every other team.

“Covid has turned the season into a total mess, it’s meant it can’t be a truly fair season with different clubs playing different amounts of games and Salford couldn’t even field a team last week so I think a lot of clubs will be happy when this season is over.”

Everyone at Catalans seemed to be unhappy last week with suggestions by Leeds Rhinos coach Richard Agar that the Dragons had “dodged” several fixtures against some of the stronger teams this season.
Tomkins said the suggestions were ridiculous, adding: “For someone to say we are dodging fixtures is absolute rubbish, it’s based upon nothing. You’ve got to bear in mind that before lockdown in March, Leeds didn’t come to us because they thought somebody had Covid and it turned out they didn’t.
“We didn’t claim they were ‘dodging’ us did we?

“So it’s rubbish, no-one’s dodging fixtures. We’ve certainly got no reason to try and dodge games, we want to play as many as we can just the same as any other team.

“Anybody with any sense involved in a rugby club would know that you wouldn’t be dodging fixtures in a year where you’ve just played 12 games.

“We’ve done everything we can at the club to make things as safe as possible but we’re in a global pandemic. People are going to catch a virus that’s stretching across pretty much every country in the world.

“Castleford have just got twelve positive results and no part of me thinks that they have done that on purpose. We’re in a pandemic, people are going to get the virus, it’s as simple as that.

“For someone to think that we’d be dodging games is a ridiculous idea and it’s quite rich coming from a coach that ‘dodged’ a round of the Challenge Cup when it got redrawn, meaning they had to win just three games to win a trophy and is now sat in fifth and asking for a top-five play-off system rather than a top four.”

Tomkins admits that he and fellow players are concerned about the effect Covid has had on their careers and the uncertainty of how long the virus will continue.

He said: “Everybody has taken a wage cut this year and we’re lucky in that we’ve got Bernard (Guasch) as a chairman who is doing everything in his power to make sure the players are looked after and we appreciate that but there will be a time in the future, if things don’t change, where the question will be asked: is it feasible going forward?

“Pretty much every club is thinking at the moment ‘what if this continues?’ because nobody expected it to go on as long as it has. If it goes on very much further then it’s going to be tough for anyone to survive.”

Tomkins is a survivor, he was one of several Catalans players who recently failed virus tests, but apart from minor symptoms he has fully recovered and is ready to play his part in whatever fixture list remains after Monday.

“I’m not playing against Salford,” he said: “I was one of the players who tested positive for Covid last week. A few others will have to sit the Salford game out but we should be okay for the next fixture, which is provisionally St Helens at home on Thursday.

“The only symptom I had was a loss of my sense of smell and taste which hasn’t come back yet which isn’t great but it means I’m eating healthier – there’s no need for chocolate and other rubbish now.

“Everyone who contracted Covid here will miss the Salford game and we would have been okay for Saints. However, I think that might be changed now, I don’t think we’ll be playing St Helens.

“It’s disappointing that we might not now be playing a home game for the rest of the season. As players we love playing at the Brutus, it’s a real carnival atmosphere and everybody loves playing in front of your own fans.

“We’ve been lucky in a way, we’ve had a few games where we’ve been allowed limited crowds so at least we’ve had a bit more of a taste than other clubs but we’re still very disappointed.

“It looks like we will be in the play-offs and it’s going to be a pretty short system. Whoever’s in the top four, five or six, whatever system they choose, will have to get through a few weeks, win three games or so and you’ve got a title.”

Tomkins feels sorry for fellow players who go on to win the Grand Final as he believes they will miss out on the full experience of what could be the pinnacle of their career.

He said: “It’s a shame but whoever wins it this year will have a star next to it. I’m disappointed for whoever it is that makes the final because if that’s the only final you ever make I’d be gutted for them.
“The experience of playing a Grand Final is walking out at Old Trafford, the build-up through the week, seeing 60,000 fans, that’s what makes it.
“So to play at Hull on a Friday night in front of nobody is going to be a massive anti-climax.

“There will still be a title won and Grand Final rings given out which we want to be a part of but I’m still disappointed for players who might only ever play in that one Grand Final.”

A naturally up-beat and positive character, Tomkins is balancing the disappointment of this season with the excitement and optimism of next year’s Rugby League World Cup.

Selected in the training squad by England coach Shaun Wane, Tomkins can’t wait for the tournament which he says will be the perfect antidote to the Covid gloom of 2020.
He said: “It would be ideal, wouldn’t it, if after all this by next year we got back to some normality. What better way to showcase Rugby League than a World Cup on home soil.?

“That’s the dream for everyone at the moment, it would be a perfect ending to what has been a terrible, terrible period of time with Covid.
“A home World Cup will be unbelievable and I think we’ve got a great chance of doing something special in it.”

Like other England squad members, Tomkins is in regular communication with his former mentor at Wigan who, it seems, is just as frustrated as his players.

He said: “Obviously we’re very disappointed that we can’t be playing this year but we have regular meetings online with coach Shaun Wane where he shows us footage of games we’ve played in and lets us know what he thinks is good or not so good and areas we need to improve upon.
“He’s in constant contact but it’s not exactly as he would like, Shaun is a very hands-on, full-on coach so for him to not be able to see his players’ faces and get some training done with us then it must be massively frustrating for him.
“I see he has just extended his contract so he knows he’s got the time to work with us and there will be plenty of games ahead for him as England boss.”

There may not be plenty of games left in Super League 2020 for Sam Tomkins who, like many others, will be happy to put this year behind him.

Currently sitting top of League Express’s Albert Goldthorpe Medal table following some outstanding performances in the few games Catalans have played this season, he has many reasons to be cheerful. But the “shambles” of season 2020 isn’t one of them.

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[wall_of_voodoo]

Bet he's not complaining now