Internationals / Ralph Ellis / 30 October 2009 / Leave a comment

The chips are down for Tony Smith's men but Ralph Ellis believes that a young scrum-half could be about to follow in the footsteps of some of the England's fresh-faced sporting heroes...

It's never easy choosing when to throw a talented young player into the deep end of international sport. Glenn Hoddle, for instance, never intended for an 18-year-old Michael Owen to play a pivotal role in the 1998 World Cup. He ended up scoring one of the all-time great goals against Argentina.

There are plenty of other youngsters who've waltzed straight in to the big arenas and looked as if they've belonged there all their life. Alastair Cook hitting a century against India on his Test debut comes to mind, and Jonny Wilkinson was still a fresh faced 19-year-old when his heroic defending stopped Scotland winning the Grand Slam in 1999.

So there are precedents for the challenge thrown in front of Wigan's rising young star Sam Tomkins when he plays in tomorrow's Four Nations clash with Australia. The 20-year-old has been one of the sensations of the Super League season, quite rightly voted Young Player of the Year for the impact he's made with Warriors.

He's been picked only 10 times for them while Brian Noble tried to nurse the frail looking boy into the heavy hitting world of the big rugby league men. But that's been more than enough to convince England coach Tony Smith of his precocious talent.

In one sense it's a huge gamble to throw him into a match against mighty Australia. He's got to line up against Darren Lockyer, his boyhood hero. And just to add to the pressure on the kid he'll be playing scrum-half, having spent most of his career at stand-off.

But in another way there's no pressure at all. Australia are massive favourites - as short as [1.15] with Betfair's punters - so Tomkins can't fail. He can, on the other hand, succeed. .

That's certainly what Smith is hoping for. "Sam has some unpredictability about him and is willing to have a go," he says. "He has taken everything in his stride this season and opposing sides in the Super League have tried to break him without success."

Smith has picked a bold line-up but has got the power in his front row to frustrate Australia. He also seems to have got away from the internal clashes between the factions from Leeds and St Helens which caused so much mayhem behind the scenes during last winter's World Cup.

Even so it's asking a lot to support an England win even at a juicy [8.6] - but there is value in backing Smith's team plus 16.5 points at around even money, currently [1.96]. So often, as in the case of the likes of Owen, Cook and Wilkinson, young players step nervelessly on to the big stage because they are too naïve to understand the pressures of international sport. Could it be that Tomkins is about to deliver a similarly famous first big day?

Five things you might not know about Sam Tomkins

1. Born in Chorley, he's the middle brother in a rugby league family. Elder brother Joel also plays for Wigan Warriors, while his younger sibling Logan is rated as one of the club's brightest academy prospects.

2. Despite their careers at Wigan, the brothers are actually all Warrington fans - that was where Joel was born and it's the team both their Mum and Dad support

3. Sam was aged 11 the first time he played at the DW Stadium - it was in a half time exhibition during a Super League match

4. He became the first player to score five tries on a debut - and took just 12 minutes to reach a hat-trick - when he made his senior bow for Wigan in a 106-8 Challenge Cup romp over Whitehaven in May 2008.

5. The five-year contract he signed in June of this year is one of the longest in Super League, but not the longest - Huddersfield have Eorl Crabtree signed until 2015.

Tags: England v Australia rugby league betting, Four Nations Rugby League betting odds, Rugby League betting, Sam Tomkins