Joel Tomkins

Joel Andrew Tomkins (born 21 March 1987) is an English professional rugby league coach who is currently the scholarship coach for Wigan Warriors, the club he spent the majority of his professional playing career.

Tomkins was a duel code player, playing both rugby league and rugby union, playing as a forward for Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons in the Super League, and Saracens in the English Rugby Premiership.

He has played has played for both the England national rugby league and rugby union team at international level.

Tomkins was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England, but he was raised in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.

He is the eldest brother of Sam Tomkins and Logan Tomkins, who also both played rugby league.

Tomkins is a former St. John Fisher player, where he played in the Wigan Warriors' Academy at under-18's level in 2003.

He was selected for the 2004 Academy Origin Series.

Joel was one of the most highly rated talents in the Wigan Warriors' Academy.

He primarily plays in the, but he can also play as a , and.

In 2005, he was called up into the first-team at the age of 18 and he made his senior début for the Wigan Warriors against the Widnes Vikings in March 2005.

During 2005, Joel made another 12 appearances and scoring a total of 3 tries in the process.

The talented youngster was given his chance at first-team level under coach Ian Millward, who had become Head Coach of the Wigan Warriors in 2005.

Tomkins started the first match of the 2006 season at, in a match against the Catalans Dragons which the Wigan Warriors lost, 38–30.

He was demoted to the bench for the second match of the season against the Leeds Rhinos.

After 17-minutes he was brought from off the bench and scored a try with his first touch of the ball to give the Wigan Warriors a 4–0 lead.

The Wigan Warriors went onto lose the match, 16–24.

In February 2006, Tomkins agreed a contract extension with the Wigan Warriors which would keep him at the club until 2008.

He started from the bench for the next two matches against the Huddersfield Giants and the Salford City Reds, but he was dropped to the Academy just shortly after.

He later returned to the squad when he was named on the bench for the Challenge Cup fourth round match, against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on 2 April 2006.

He also played in the next couple of Super League matches against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and St. Helens, before again being dropped to the Academy.

Team Head Coach Ian Millward was sacked in April 2006, because of the poor results from the Wigan Warriors side.

He was replaced by Brian Noble on 20 April 2006.

The Wigan Warriors were bottom of the Super League and Noble decided to play a more experienced squad, which meant that Tomkins would not make another appearance during 2006.

Tomkins started the 2007 season in the Wigan Warriors' Senior Academy, where he was in good-form scoring 5 tries in one match against Hull Kingston Rovers' Academy.

But despite this he was not called up into the first-team squad until 18 May 2007, for the Super League match against Hull Kingston Rovers.

Tomkins suffered an ankle injury during the match and was out for 2-weeks, before returning to the Wigan Warriors' Senior Academy.

He then later returned to the Wigan Warriors first-team for the match against the Catalans Dragons on 15 June 2007.

On 27 July 2007, the 20-year-old joined the Widnes Vikings, initially on a month's long loan-deal, with a view to extending the deal to the end of the season.

Widnes Vikings Head Coach Steve McCormack said, "It's a really good signing for the Club. Joel has tremendous ability and experience".

He became a regular first-team player for the Wigan Warriors during the 2008 season, he was a substitute in the Wigan Warriors' first match of the season against Harlequins RL.

He was not included in the Wigan Warriors squad for the next two games against the Castleford Tigers and Hull Kingston Rovers, but he returned to the squad as a substitute for the match against the Bradford Bulls in which he scored his first try in the 2008 season.

Despite a good performance against the Bradford Bulls, he was not included in the squad for the next two Super League games, his place in the squad was taken by Australian, Phil Bailey.

His next appearance was in the Good Friday derby match against St. Helens as a substitute.

He kept his place in the squad for 13 consecutive games and he scored two more tries, one against the Warrington Wolves in the Super League round 14 and the other against the Catalans Dragons in round 17.

Tomkins continued to be a presence in the Wigan Warriors' 2009 Super League season.

He was successful in the 2010 Super League season, lifting the League Leaders' Shield with the Wigan Warriors.

Tomkins played in the 2010 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens at Old Trafford.

He was then part of the Wigan Warriors' side that lost the 2011 World Club Challenge to the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Tomkins made five consecutive appearances at the start of the 2011 Super League season, including the opening fixture against St. Helens, before being sent-off in a game against Hull F.C.

He received a two-match ban for the incident with his brother Sam, also banned for one-game.