Super League legend Sam Tomkins makes retirement call with ‘dream’ end set out

Super League legend Sam Tomkins has confirmed when he will retire with the 36-year-old set to hang the boots up for a second time.

Tomkins initially retired at the end of the 2023 season with the ex-Wigan Warriors man calling time after Catalans Dragons’ Grand Final loss to his former club.

However, less than a year into his retirement, Tomkins made a U-turn on his decision as he donned the boots once again and saw out the remainder of the 2024 season with Catalans.

He’d sign an extended deal that would contract him for the 2025 season as well but he’s now insisted that this is his final year as a rugby league player, meaning he’s set to call time on a glittering career.

Sam Tomkins recently made his 400th career appearance and it’s hard to argue that the two-time Man of Steel winner isn’t one of the finest full-backs that England have produced.

Sam Tomkins to retire at the end of 2025 with 2026 career named

His decision to retire was one that Sam Tomkins announced on The Rugby League Verdict on Sky Sports with the 36-year-old speaking to former Sky colleagues Jenna Brooks and Jon Wilkin about the decision.

He explained: “I’ve had the nice fairytale and the nice send off and all the nice words said about me in 2023 so there won’t be any of that this year, I’ll humbly retire at the end of the year, hopefully at Old Trafford lifting the trophy, that’s the dream, but this year is definitely my last!

“I’ve enjoyed coming out of retirement, and I’m seeing it as though every game is a bonus. I’ve wanted to be a rugby league player from being five years old, there’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to do, so when the opportunity came to go around again for a little bit, I sort of felt like I had to do it for the five-year-old Sam Tomkins.”

On his final few months as a player, he said: “I feel like you’re a long-time retired so this year I’m going to give everything I’ve got and then I’m going to be hanging up the boots and I’ll be team Sky Sports next year rather than Catalans Dragons.”

It’s no surprise to see Tomkins call time on his career given that he’s already done it once but it’s still a major decision for someone who has offered so much to the sport of rugby league.