Sam Tomkins has sent out a message to New Zealand ahead of Saturday’s do or die battle in Dunedin – after last year’s World Cup semi-final, we owe you one.
Tomkins was part of the England team left stunned by Shaun Johnson’s late try and conversion that eliminated England at Wembley, as they missed out on a World Cup final spot by the narrowest of margins.
But with England needing to win by 10 points to guarantee progression to next weekend’s final, Tomkins insists that the hurt his side felt last year means they owe the Kiwis some revenge, and England are fired up to get the job done.
“I know that all the players involved were hurting after that game, as you can imagine,” Tomkins said.
“We certainly feel like we owe them one for that, with Shaun Johnson getting one over us in the last minute. The Kiwis are a very good side, as we all know, and we are going to have to do a great job to go out and beat them. We are going to give it our best.”
