Sculthorpe quits internationals

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The 29-year-old St Helens loose forward, skipper of the national side since Andy Farrell moved to rugby union more than two years ago, has quit in a bid to extend his club career.

He told the Guardian: "I phoned [Lions coach] Tony Smith last week to tell him that I'd be finishing."

Sculthorpe, who has been restricted to just 18 minutes action in the last 10 Tests because of injury, told the newspaper his forthcoming autobiography, 'Man of Steel', would confirm the end of his international career.

He added: "It's tough because I was vice-captain to Faz [Farrell] for so long, and you could never get him to miss a game.

"Everybody wants to captain their country and it was a big honour for me to get the job. It's just been bad luck that I never got a real run at it. It's been a bit of a jinx for me."

Sculthorpe revealed his decision came before he suffered a ruptured Achilles in training last month, which ended his hopes of leading Saints in the first Challenge Cup final at the new Wembley.

He said: "I'd made my decision much earlier in the year, but I wanted to announce it when I was playing well. I want to play for as long as possible and this is the best way to squeeze out a few more seasons."

The only player to win three successive Man of Steel awards, Sculthorpe has won 26 Lions caps since making his debut in Papua New Guinea 11 years ago. He has also played four World Cup matches for England.

He backed his former vice-captain Jamie Peacock to succeed him as Lions skipper for autumn's home series against New Zealand and next year's World Cup.