Sam Tomkins puts England ahead of Wigan before game against Exiles

Putting country first is not a traditional rugby league mindset, nor one that will necessarily go down well with the Wigan supporters who acclaim Sam Tomkins as the club's, and possibly Britain's, finest talent since Ellery Hanley. But Tomkins is able to see the bigger picture off the field as clearly as he can spot the right moment to chime into the backline on it. "I'm an England player first, and a Wigan player second," said the 23-year-old full-back, who will make his 14th England appearance in Saturday's International Origin match against the Exiles, a team drawn from the overseas players employed in the Super League. Despite his Milton Keynes birthplace there is no disputing his commitment to Wigan, having come through the club's junior ranks with his two brothers, Joel and Logan, and signed a new three-year contract when rugby union came calling last autumn partly because of his close relationship with Shaun Wane, a huge influence throughout his formative years who had just been appointed head coach. But domestic rugby league, with its staple diet of games against Widnes, Wakefield and Castleford that are so easily ignored in the national sporting conversation, may not have been enough in itself to retain Tomkins, even at this relatively early stage of his career. He knows he has the ability to conquer more demanding, lucrative and higher-profile sporting challenges, whether they be in the other code or in Australia's National Rugby League. He even has famous pals – Rio Ferdinand has been tweeting admiration for him for a while now, and popped down to the Wigan dressing room for a chat after their recent win at Leeds. "We could learn off each other," Tomkins said, jokingly. "But I'm not sure he'd want to do a contact session, just as we wouldn't be great at headers and volleys." England are hosting the World Cup next autumn, and Tomkins will be the face of the competition. Not in the same league as union's version in terms of national or global profile, admittedly, but still a huge challenge and a decent platform, with an opening match against the Kangaroos at the Millennium Stadium, followed by a semi-final at Wembley and the final at Old Trafford. It was during two appearances at Wembley in the space of three months last year that Tomkins started to gain the recognition his breathtaking talent deserves: in the Challenge Cup final in August, when Wigan returned to the stage they dominated in Hanley's era and he set up a brilliant try for elder brother, Joel, then flicked a surreptitious V-sign at a few abusive Leeds supporters; and in a Four Nations match against Australia on 5 November , when he conclusively proved, to himself as well as the wider rugby league world, that he could cut it against the game's best. He clearly relished the experience of the Four Nations series, despite England's defeat by the Aussies in the final , and was just as obviously happy this week to be back at the training base in Loughborough where the national team now enjoy the sort of facilities and support that has previously been lacking. "It's good being back in camp," he said. "I've not been with the England lads for a while, and I enjoy it. This structure where we meet up every couple of months for a few days is working. As a group we are getting stronger and more closely-knit." In Tomkins at full-back and Leeds's Ryan Hall on the wing, England have two outside backs to rival any in Australia, for the first time in recent memory, with Jason Robinson and Martin Offiah the last to command such respect. Hull's Tom Briscoe played on the other flank and formed an effective back three in the Four Nations, but his quiet recent form has handed a chance to Josh Charnley, the young Wigan wing who is Super League's leading try-scorer against the Exiles. Tomkins has also welcomed the return to the national team of his Wigan captain, Sean O'Loughlin, a tough and skilful loose forward who missed last year's Four Nations with injury, and Gareth Hock, the hulking second-row who tested positive for cocaine shortly after his last England appearance in 2009, leading to a two-year ban. "For an international team to be successful, we need Lockers to be part of it," he said. "If there is one player I wouldn't like to be missing at Wigan, it's him. He is one of those players who gets overlooked. "Gaz had a tough time – two years out of the game which he admits was the worst mistake of his life. You see the form he is in now and he is the best back-rower in the league. In fact, there aren't many better back-rowers in the world." On Saturday night England's Wigan contingent will clash with at least two of their club team-mates as Thomas Leuluai and Jeff Lima will definitely start for the Exiles, with Epalahame Lauaki in contention for a place on the interchange bench. Daniel Anderson, the former St Helens coach who has flown in to take charge of the imports, has assembled a formidable team who look more than capable of repeating the dramatic win the Exiles snatched in the first International Origin match at Headingley last summer, a game that was sufficiently competitive to persuade the RFL to arrange two matches this year. Unfortunately, the majority of the rugby league public remain unconvinced by the concept, and it will be a surprise if Langtree Park is more than half full for the first representative fixture at the smart new stadium in St Helens. Tomkins was jeered the last time he played there, for Wigan on Good Friday, just as he was when wearing an England shirt at Headingley last summer. It will take a successful World Cup to persuade more in the game to abandon their default parochialism for the wider perspective of a genuine star. England: Tomkins; Charnley, Ablett, Atkins, Hall; Sinfield, Chase; Crabtree, Roby, Peacock (capt), Hock, Tickle, O'Loughlin. Interchange: Burrow, Carvell, Mossop, Jones-Buchanan. Exiles: McDonnell; Monaghan, Soliola, Millard, Meli, Leuluai (capt), Dureau; Puletua, Hohaia, Lima, Manu, Waterhouse, Fa'alogo. Interchange: Laffranchi, Kaufusi, Faiumu, Lauaki.