Sam Tomkins: England World Cup win would mean "everything"

England full-back Sam Tomkins says he would swap all of his Wigan Warriors honours for World Cup success.

Tomkins, 24, who joined NRL side New Zealand Warriors for a world-record fee, finished his Wigan career with a second Super League Grand Final win.

"To win the World Cup would mean everything," he said of the tournament which starts on 26 October in Cardiff.

"I've been lucky enough to win trophies with Wigan but I would certainly swap them to win the World Cup."

Tomkins, who has won two Challenge Cups and two League Leaders' Shields since making his Wigan debut in 2008, is part of the England squad who open the tournament against Australia at the Millennium Stadium.

National coach Steve McNamara was wrapping up the squad's high-altitude training camp in South Africa on Tuesday and Tomkins believes England are in the best possible shape to make an impact.

"The facilities here are world class and I think we're very fortunate," the 2012 Man of Steel said. "We've everything we need. This is the best preparation we could possibly have.

"It's the most competitive squad I've ever seen. Every position is up for grabs and you can see the intensity picking up as the camp draws to a close.

"This is probably the best England team I've been involved in. We've got bags of potential and, if everyone can perform to their potential, I think we can do something special."

England finalise their preparations for the tournament with a warm-up game against Italy at Salford on Saturday.

Listen to a special BBC Radio 5 live programme about Sam Tomkins on Thursday, 17 October from 21:00 BST.