Nick Tompkins ready to take the next step at Saracens after learning from Jamie George to wait for his chance

After a result-defining 46-minute performance earned him the man of the match award in the thrilling 36-34 win over Ospreys on Saturday night, centre Nick Tompkins believes he is ready to step up for Saracens and fill the void if director of rugby Mark McCall comes calling.

The 22-year-old Englishman was given a rare chance to impress at Allianz Park when starting outside centre Duncan Taylor limped out of the European Champions Cup encounter with a knee injury, with Marcelo Bosch already absent due to a similar issue suffered last weekend.

It means that McCall faces a tough decision ahead of next weekend’s visit of London Irish should both Bosch and Taylor fail to recover, but after watching Tompkins play a hand in two of Saracens’ five tries as well as adding the fifth score himself, the academy product insists he’s ready to step up and deliver for the reigning European champions.

“I believe I am,” Tompkins said. “You have to believe you are otherwise what are we in this company for, what am I doing? I’m confident I can but you’ve got Marcelo, Brad [Barritt] and Duncan, so whatever the coaches want I’ll be there and do, but I believe I’m ready.”

That belief has faced huge levels of uncertainty over the last few months, not least because opportunities in the first team have been hard to come by for Tompkins. Having made his professional debut five years ago, he already has more than 50 caps to his name, but having to play second fiddle to the likes of Barritt, Taylor and Bosch has meant that starting matches has become something of a rarity.

This is nothing new in professional rugby though, and part of coming through that phase of development is understanding that chances will inevitably arise, and it’s up to a player to ensure they make the most of that. After watching teammate Jamie George do the same at Saracens, having been behind South African hookers John Smit and Schalk Brits in the pecking order for so long, Tompkins looks to have invested in that same mindset.

“There’s definitely frustration but then all you have to look at and realise is that I’m young as well,” he explained. “What you learn from a club like this, what you get from the knowledge and the people and the application from the coaches is second to none and you don’t get that anywhere else, and if I’m patient and bide my time and keep working hard, I’ll hopefully get my shot.

“I trust in them, they trust in me but at the same time I still need to keep learning. There’s a lot that I need to learn as well, and there’s a lot of good players around me to learn it from.

“I suppose as a young guy you can get a bit impatient and you think you deserve maybe more than you should. I’ve definitely had times where I think ‘I deserve that’ but you’ve got to look back at why are these guys there in front of you and what do they do better, and then you’ve got to learn and work on these things. I’m trying to do it, it’s hard and it’s definitely a hard process to do, and it takes a lot of time.”

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If Saturday was anything to go by, Tompkins is certainly making the most of this chance. His introduction in the 34th minute came when Saracens were trailing Ospreys, and after playing a part in Schalk Brits’ score on the stroke of half-time to send the sides in level at 17-17, he produced a moment of magic to offload the ball out of the back of his hand on his way to the turf to send Liam Williams over for his third try in his last two matches.

“I wasn’t sure it was going to pull off!” Tompkins added. “He [Williams] called for it and it’s kind of instinct, obviously if you know you can do it skill-wise, you do it, but I’m very grateful it came off otherwise it would’ve looked a bit silly.”

Saracens looked on course for victory by that point, and by the time Tompkins crossed for the fifth try to lead 36-27, Sarries looked home and dry. A late score from debutant Sam Cross did secure Ospreys two bonus points for scoring four tries and finishing just two points off the home side, but all eyes were on Tompkins’ performance that once again came on the European stage. Having starred against Scarlets and Toulon last season, this showing added weight to the theory that Tompkins already has that big-game attitude that the very best need to reach the top of the game.

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“When you get your chance, you have to take it and it sounds a bit of a cliché and it is but I suppose you just can’t lie, with European games it’s just a bit more of an extra buzz,” he said. “You try not to, you try to make every game the same but you can’t recreate what you get from these kind of games, especially when I come on I want to be able to prove that I can play at the top with all the top players.”

On this evidence, Saracens should be in safe hands if Tompkins is needed next weekend.