Peacock hints at England exit

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Smith, 42, announced an end to his three-year tenure in the wake of England's 46-16 Gillette Four Nations final defeat by Australia in order to spend more time with his family and concentrate on his club role with Warrington.

Now Peacock may consider stepping down as skipper and making himself unavailable for next autumn's series Down Under for similar reasons, although even at 32 he has not given up hope of playing in the 2013 World Cup. "I'll think about that next year," he said.

"My time is running out. Every time it's another less year to play."

A final that promised to end 37 years of hurt when England led 16-12 early in the second half unravelled in spectacular fashion as the Kangaroos plundered 24 points in the final 15 minutes to silence a 31,000 crowd at Elland Road.

Even amid the desolation of defeat, though, Peacock was able to glean a host of positives from England's Four Nations campaign and he paid tribute to Smith for his bold selection policy in the wake of their World Cup disaster.

Half-backs Sam Tomkins and Kyle Eastmond both burst spectacularly onto the scene while another 20-year-old, forward Sam Burgess, added another impressive line to his CV as he prepares to leave for Australia with an explosive two-try performance at Elland Road.

Peacock added: "The performance of Sam Burgess was a real positive to come out of the series and some of the young players that Smithy has had the courage to pick have done their country proud.

"You could go through the team - Briscoe, Hally, Foxy, Shents and the three young lads have all been great all the way through. They have been fantastic and really lifted the country."