Sam Tomkins hopes to toast success in Super League Grand Final farewell

Former England rugby league captain Sam Tomkins would be able to toast Grand Final success - with his own wine.

The 34-year-old will play his last game of a glittering career tonight (Sat) when Catalans Dragons face his old club Wigan in front of around 60,000 fans at Old Trafford. And Tomkins has already made plans for a new project when he hangs up his boots - producing his own wine at a vineyard near his home in the south of France.

“In the next couple of years I should have a few bottles to sell,” said the Catalans full-back.

Will his range be soon on the shelves in Greater Manchester? “In Wigan? I don’t know when we’ll be big enough to be exporting internationally,” he said.

Before then, his focus is on ensuring his final game will be his most memorable, as Catalans aim to become the first non-UK side to win the Super League title. Steve McNamara’s outfit reached the title showdown by beating St Helens 12-6 in an epic semi-final last weekend, with Tomkins scoring a dramatic winning try.

And he said: “Everybody's got their own personal story of why trophies mean something to them. But this is different.

“This is the first for a club and the last time I’ll ever lace my boots up. So yeah, the fairytale ending isn’t playing on Saturday - it’s winning on Saturday.”

Tomkins won three Grand Finals at hometown club Wigan - achievements marked with tattoos on his body. Asked if he would get more inkwork if Catalans won, he joked: “Yeah, I might as well. Look at me. I already look like a colouring book.”

The two-time Man of Steel winner, as Super League’s player of the year, has no doubt provided the focal point. But coach McNamara said: “There’s a lot of talk around this game, quite rightly so with Sam and his connection