World Cup winner Cayless quits Kiwis

World Cup winning New Zealand captain Nathan Cayless has announced his retirement from international rugby league.

Cayless, 31, led the Kiwis to their 34-20 World Cup final win over Australia last November, the last of his 38 caps.

He said: “That was and always will be a massive highlight of my career. Nothing can compare with that.”

“It was a fantastic campaign to be involved in and it was a huge honour to be able to lead the first New Zealand team to win the World Cup.

“I’ve had a great time playing for the Kiwis over the last 10 years but I decided a while ago that it was time to move on from representative football.”

Cayless, who made his international debut in 1998, will now concentrate on playing for Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

He added: “I now want to put all my energy into Parramatta for the last couple of years of my career.”