League: Marshall on verge of milestone

Marshall will lead the Kiwis for the 17th time when they take on England in their sudden-death Four Nations encounter. Photo / Getty Images

Benji Marshall is within two tests of equalling the record as the longest-serving Kiwis captain.

Marshall will lead the Kiwis for the 17th time when they take on England in their sudden-death Four Nations encounter in Hull on Sunday morning (NZT) in a match that will determine who will meet Australia in the final in Leeds next weekend.

The 26-year-old Whakatane-born five-eighth led the Kiwis for the first time when he stood in for an injured Nathan Cayless against England in Newcastle during the triumphant 2008 rugby league World Cup campaign.

When Cayless retired from representative football in early 2009, coach Stephen Kearney gave the captaincy to the then 24-year-old Wests Tigers playmaker.

Since then Marshall has led New Zealand in 15 consecutive tests and, should the Kiwis beat England in Hull, he would take his total as captain to 18, drawing level with Mark Graham and Ruben Wiki and just one behind Gary Freeman, who captained the side 19 times from 1990-1995.

Last Saturday, Marshall achieved another milestone when he kicked four goals in the Kiwis' 36-0 win against Wales to become only the seventh player in history to score 100 points in tests for New Zealand.

He ranks behind Matthew Ridge, Stacey Jones, Daryl Halligan, Des White, Henry Paul and Olsen Filipaina.

Aside from his points-scoring and captaincy achievements, Marshall has also put together an impressive run of test appearances in the last four years. The match against England will be his 22nd consecutive international since playing against Tonga in Auckland in 2008.

The only test he has missed in Kearney's reign as coach was his very first, against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in May 2008.

In contrast, after making his test debut against Australia in 2005, Marshall was able to play just three of a possible 20 internationals - all Anzac tests in 2005, 2006 and 2007 - before he became a permanent fixture for the 2008 World Cup campaign.

His durability for his country has been matched for his club Wests Tigers.

He played in 25 of their 26 matches this year, all 27 in 2010 and 23 of 24 in 2009.