England second-rower Joel Tomkins is a dual international in rugby league and union, but he has no grandiose visions of himself as a superstar.

Tomkins, 27, who will play against the Kiwis in the crucial Four Nations Test at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night, played three rugby union Tests for England during his three-year stint with London-based club Saracens which ended early this year.

“Guys like Sonny Bill Williams and Brad Thorn are at a different level to me,” he said.

“I’m just a bloke trying to do his best and not a superstar like them.”

Tomkins played three Tests for England as a centre outside Billy Twelvetrees, against Australia, the All Blacks and Argentina.

“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “Opportunities like that don’t come around very often. To play at Twickenham against those teams was special.

“I really enjoyed it. It was a great achievement for myself, but I was approached to return to league and the timing was perfect.

“I feel I am a better league player than union player. That is the bottom line.”

He returned to his old club, Wigan, on a four-year contract and he is comfortable with his decision even though he reportedly took a pay cut to make the switch.

He has regained his place in the England league team and is determined to be in a winning side against the Kiwis for the first time on Saturday.

His only previous Test against New Zealand, in Wellington in 2010, was a loss but he is confident England can reverse that result in Dunedin.

“We’ve got a bit of experience playing the Kiwis so we’ll go into the test with some confidence and hopefully get the job done.

“They’ve probably been the best pack around for the past few years so hopefully we can lay down a marker and go toe to toe with them.

“We have to win by 10 or more, which does add a little pressure, but we’ll be trying not to think about that too much. If we put on a good performance, the points will come.”