Tomkins happy to let others take the limelight after quiet Wembley debut

The England international went into the game as the hottest favourite in history to win the prestigious Lance Todd Trophy, but admits he was disappointed with his own performance in the Warriors’ 28-18 victory over Leeds. While most eyes were on the full-back, former New Zealand Test prop Jeff Lima became Wigan’s unlikely hero, scoring a try in each half to treble his tally for the club and claim the man-of-the-match award.

“There was a lot of talk in the week about the Lance Todd but it’s not something I concentrate on and I’m happy Jeff got it,” said Tomkins. “Jeff deserved it more than anyone on the field. I definitely didn’t play my best game but, as long as I’m a part of this team, I don’t mind.

“Leeds nullified a lot of what I was doing but, when they were concentrating on me, it created lots of gaps for other people.”

Lima exploited those gaps by taking passes from his front-row partners Paul Prescott and Lee Mossop to score his tries.

Tomkins did make his mark by sparking the move that led to a spectacular long-range try by older brother Joel and he was also involved in the opening score by winger Josh Charnley, but he is happy to bask in the glory of Wigan’s first Wembley triumph for 16 years, instead of taking personal plaudits.

Wigan lifted the cup eight years in a row up to 1995 but Tomkins’s only previous visit to Wembley was as a nine-year-old to witness their shock defeat by Sheffield Eagles in 1998.

“The hairs on the back of your neck stand up with the noise that the fans made,” he said. “It was not just Wigan fans, Leeds’s fans were loud as well.

“It’s something you’d like to savour.

“I’ll never forget that feeling. There’s that magic in the Challenge Cup, it’s a bit different to everything else.

“It’s been a goal of ours since the start of last year. We were unfortunate last year when Leeds pipped us in the quarter-final and that hurt. We probably owed Leeds one.”