Sam Tomkins says England have to face New Zealand and Australia on a more regular basis if they are to have a chance of lifting the World Cup again.
Tomkins, like the rest of his England team-mates, was left gutted as New Zealand snatched Saturday’s World Cup semi-final at the death.
England were on course for a deserved victory against the holders until scrum-half Shaun Johnson danced his way through the England defence with 21 seconds left on the clock.
Tomkins could not hide his disappointment but says England will be stronger for the defeat and they have to build for the future.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” Tomkins said. “To lose in the dying seconds like that is absolutely gutting. That’s sport, sometimes it doesn’t quite go your way, I’ve been in games where we’ve won them like that as well.
“As gutted as I am, I think this group will be stronger for it.”
Tomkins says it is also essential to play the best on a more regular basis if they are to improve.
“We need to look at games like this and realise England need to be playing internationals against the best in the world,” he added. “We need more tough tests, we are only going to get better that way.
“The Aussies and Kiwis are playing each other mid-season, whereas we have a year off when we are playing Wales and the like and it doesn’t help us.”
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