'He makes sure you're fired up': Sam Tomkins on England's Mr Motivator

Wane replaced Wayne Bennett as England boss in February 2020, only to see a planned Ashes series cancelled and the World Cup pushed back 12 months.

The 58-year-old has been restricted to four low-key matches at the helm but has a wealth of big-game experience from his seven years in charge of Wigan Warriors.

Tomkins, who won three Super League titles under Wane at Wigan, is expecting the England boss to ramp up the intensity as the World Cup opener approaches.

"Shaun is passionate and he gets that across to players really quickly," said the England captain.

"He's very intense with the way that he coaches. I've had Shaun coaching me from 15 years old, with a few breaks in between, so I know what he's about.

"He is full-on and makes sure you're fired up for games. That's probably Shaun's biggest asset - he gets players to play well in big games.

"They gave him the job because they wanted him to take us to the next level as an international team."

The delayed 2021 tournament could be Tomkins' last chance to add a World Cup to his list of rugby league honours.

The 33-year-old, who featured in the 2013 semi-final loss to New Zealand but missed out four years later, accepts that England must defy the odds to claim the trophy for the first time as a nation.

"The World Cup is very special," he said.

"I'm proud to be English and pull on the England jersey. To be successful in that shirt is always the main goal and there's no bigger competition than the World Cup.

"It's a tough task; we're not favourites and there are some teams that would be favourites in front of us.

"But we've got a great group of players that are desperate to go and do something special."

This weekend's opponents Samoa are viewed as genuine contenders, while Tonga have beaten Great Britain and Australia since reaching the semi-finals in 2017.

The Kangaroos and New Zealand are once again the teams to beat, leaving England as outsiders.

Tomkins is anticipating the most competitive World Cup in the history of the sport.

"When we lose games with England, it's never through lack of effort," he said.

"We try hard but effort has not always been enough and we've just fallen short in the past.

"We know this year we'll know we'll have to be better than we ever have been before because the competition is tougher than it's ever been before.

"Whoever wins it will deserve it because there are some good teams in the competition."