New Zealand's World Cup-winning skipper Nathan Cayless has quit representative rugby league effective immediately.

Cayless, 31, said he felt the time was right to retire after leading the Kiwis to their historic 34-20 win over the Kangaroos at Suncorp Stadium last November.

It's a blow for the Kiwis ahead of the May 8 re-match with Australia in Brisbane, the Parramatta front-rower claiming the decision to hang up his Test boots had been a long time coming.

"That was and always will be a massive highlight of my career," said Cayless.

"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.

"I now want to put all my energy into Parramatta for the last couple of years of my career."

Cayless played 38 Tests for the Kiwis, making his international debut in the second Test against Australia in Brisbane in 1998.

His announcement comes just a day after former New Zealand skipper Stacey Jones confirmed he would not be coming out of representative retirement for next month's clash.

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