Tomkins: "Retirement was a big decision but quite easy for me really. The idea for me was always to transition from playing to joining Sky Sports. I've very quickly gone from an old experienced rugby league player, to a younger inexperienced part of the broadcast team"
Wednesday 24 January 2024 11:26, UK
Sam Tomkins told Sky Sports his decision to retire from rugby league was "easy" due to a pre-existing knee injury, while revealing his excitement at joining Sky's Super League team with plans for innovative broadcasts.
Tomkins brought an illustrious 15-year career to an end following the 2023 Super League season, with the England captain and two-time Man of Steel retiring having registered 352 professional appearances and 1,462 points to his name for both club and country.
On Tuesday, it was announced Tomkins was the latest addition to Sky Sports Rugby League, which has already been bolstered by four-time Super League Grand Final winner Kyle Amor, and broadcasters Dave Woods and Mark Wilson.
"It [retirement] was a big decision but quite easy for me really," Tomkins told Sky Sports News on Wednesday.
"I had a pretty significant knee injury which meant I sort of knew 12 months before I actually finished that I wouldn't be able to go much longer.
"I was very lucky in the fact it was a decision made way before the end of the season, and meant I could really enjoy the last season that I did play.
"It didn't finish exactly how we wanted, but for me, there was sort of no pressure just knowing I was finishing and living that moment."
With three Grand Final wins, two Challenge Cups, two League Leaders' Shields and two Man of Steel awards to his name, Tomkins is one of Super League's most decorated stalwarts and will take his place among the greats of the modern era.
Now, he will give his unrivalled insight, expert opinion and analysis as an analyst on Sky Sports.
"I'm really excited," Tomkins said. "I've been lucky I've had opportunities while playing to do bits of the TV work and on the broadcasts, and it was something I loved straight away.
"The idea for me was always to transition from playing to joining the Sky Sports team, so I'm really looking forward to it.
"It's funny, I've very quickly gone from an old experienced rugby league player, to a younger inexperienced part of the broadcast team. So it's been a change very quickly."
Tomkins joins Sky Sports following a historic rights deal made last year, giving Super League fans the chance to watch every Betfred Super League match live for the first time.
It's something the 34-year-old believes will take Sky's coverage of Super League to new levels, and grow the sport too.
"It's amazing [every Super League game live on Sky Sports]. That's what we want. We want the game to continue to grow.
"We've got an amazing product in rugby league, and we want more people watching it.
"Sky Sports has always been at the forefront of that, and this year more than any with every game being live on Sky.
"There's going to be some new and innovative elements to it. The broadcast is going to change a little bit, which is really exciting.
"We just want more people watching the game, falling in love with it, and never switching it off."
Sky Sports and NOW is the only place to watch every game live all season. All six matches in each Super League round will be shown live, totalling around 170 games each year across Sky and NOW platforms. This will include Magic Weekend fixtures, playoffs and all three Grand Finals - Men's, Women's and Wheelchair.
Continued innovation will also be seen on screen, as renewed investment means that video referees will now feature in all Super League matches, bringing increased consistency and integrity to the sport.
In addition to live matches, Super League fans can tune in to Sky Sports for a range of support programming, including interviews and features while being able to stay across all the latest rugby league news on Sky Sports' social media channels, skysports.com, the Sky Sports App and Sky Sports News. For non-Sky subscribers, fans can still stream every Betfred Super League live match with a NOW Sports Month membership.
Watch every match of the 2024 Super League season, including Magic Weekend, the play-offs, and men's, women's and wheelchair Grand Finals, plus the World Club Challenge, live on Sky Sports. Also stream with NOW.
