[7] Following the birth of Sam's older brother Joel in Warrington, the family had moved to Milton Keynes due to his father's work.

[8] Tomkins' first experience of rugby league came when he was seven years old, after his father introduced both Sam and Joel to the Chorley Panthers ARLFC.

[9][10] To aid their careers, the family decided to move the short distance from Chorley to Wigan, and Tomkins remained playing at the club until his mid-teens.

[11] At the end of the year, Wigan rewarded Tomkins with a full-time contract, giving him the opportunity to train alongside players in the club's first team.

[35][36] With Smith expressing his desire to return home to Australia following the 2009 season, Tomkins was tipped by Lenagan as Wigan's long-term replacement at stand-off.

[39][40] Tomkins played every game for Wigan thereafter, except for the final regular round fixture of the season against Huddersfield, until the team were knocked out of the Super League play-offs by St.

[citation needed] Following the play-off loss to St. Helens, Noble announced his departure from the club after not being offered a new contract, and five days later Michael Maguire was revealed as the new head coach of Wigan.

[47][48] In Maguire's 2010 squad, Tomkins' position as Wigan's first choice stand-off was confirmed when he received the number 6 jersey from the departed Smith.

[63] Despite finishing the season as Wigan's regular fullback, Tomkins maintained his place in the 2010 Super League Dream Team in the stand-off position.

[77] From 25 April to 4 June, Tomkins scored thirteen tries in seven games for Wigan, including braces against Crusaders and Harlequins in the league and Barrow in the cup, as well as a hat-trick against Hull Kingston Rovers.

[88][89][90] After the final, the Rugby Football League investigated and found Tomkins guilty of an obscene gesture aimed at fans of the opposing Leeds team, for which he was given a suspended £1,000 fine.

On 23 June 2013, the Sydney Morning Herald published news of Tomkins impending departure from Wigan to join the New Zealand Warriors of Australia's NRL competition.

[105] His first half performance truly put him on the map in the National Rugby League after some debate previous to this game over whether he was worth the big money.

Tomkins presence at the Warriors saw long term club and New Zealand national rugby league team fullback Kevin Locke out of favour and languishing in the NSW Cup side.

[107] He underwent surgery on a posterior cruciate ligament injury in November 2015 ruling him out for the start of the 2016 Super League season, however due to complications he did not appear for Wigan until 13 May at home against Hull FC.

[108] He quickly settled into the squad with two assists in his first two Super League games of the year before scoring a try against Catalans Dragons in Round 21.

After struggling with knee injuries for the previous two seasons, Tomkins was available to play in the Super League from Round 1 against Salford Red Devils.

[110] Further tries against Warrington Wolves at the Dacia Magic Weekend in Newcastle, Castleford Tigers, Huddersfield Giants, St. Helens and future employers Catalans Dragons pushed his tally to 11 for the season.

The year was not without event however as in early June a video of Sam and brother Joel emerged appearing to show the two being abusive towards bar staff at a local pub.

[112] Tomkins played 13 games for Catalans Dragons in the 2020 Super League season including the 48-2 semi-final loss against St Helens.

[119] In July 2024, Tomkins announced a return to Catalans Dragons, coming out of retirement until the end of the season to aid the club's push for play-offs and a place in the Grand Final following "confidence" in his knee again.

On 18 October 2009, having played less than thirty games for Wigan, Tomkins made his international début for Tony Smith's England team against Wales at Brewery Field in a warm-up match for the Four Nations tournament.

[127] The then-twenty-year-old scored a hat-trick in a 12–48 victory, with Iestyn Harris, the Welsh head coach and former dual-code rugby international, praising Tomkins' contribution to the winning England team.

[128] He replaced Richie Myler for England's defeat by Australia at Wigan's DW Stadium, with an impressed Darren Lockyer, the Australian captain, stating after the match, "To be honest, we didn't really know their young fellas.

[131][132] The hosting England side, playing at Elland Road, Leeds, were overcome by Australia in the closing thirty minutes of the final despite leading 16–14 at one point, although the pairing between Eastmond and Tomkins was, according to Sky Sports, impressive.

[137] Another comprehensive defeat by Australia ended England's hopes of reaching the final, in a match where Tomkins made his first international switch from the halves to fullback.

[138] He stayed in this position for England's final match against Papua New Guinea, a 36–10 victory in which Tony Clubb equalled Tomkins' four-try record.

[139] Tomkins featured at full-back for the inaugural International Origin in 2011, which England lost thanks to Wigan teammate George Carmont's 79th minute try for the Exiles.

Tomkins was booed by England supporters from opposing clubs within the Headingley crowd at Leeds,[citation needed] an incident which was criticised as "disgraceful"[140] by Jamie Peacock, the England captain and Leeds forward, however Wigan head coach Michael Maguire claimed Tomkins had not been affected by the abuse.

[153] On his first experience of the sport, Tomkins was quoted by the BBC as saying, "I am glad I have had the chance to play but I am still a professional rugby league footballer.