 By the time Tomkins was nine , both he and his older brother had moved from the Panthers and were becoming more involved with the amateur Wigan St. Patrick 's club , a feeder team for the professional Wigan club . To aid their careers , the family decided to move from Chorley to Wigan , and Tomkins remained playing at the club until his mid @-@ teens . Reflecting on Tomkins ' time at Wigan St. Patrick 's , Bill Atherton , the club 's chairman , remarked that " you could see there was something special when Sam came up through the club . There has always been something different about him . " When he was aged twelve , he obtained a place on the Wigan Warriors scholarship scheme , and when he turned sixteen , Tomkins was offered a part @-@ time contract for the club 's academy . By 2007 , Tomkins was featuring regularly for the Wigan academy sides . That year , he featured in an under @-@ 18s win for the England Academy against France Cadets ; his early try helped establish an early England lead before he completed his brace in the second half after a sin @-@ binning for a high tackle . At the end of the year , Wigan rewarded Tomkins with a full @-@ time contract , giving him the opportunity to train alongside players in the club 's first team . 
