League: Paul still keen to play despite omission

The international rugby league career of Kiwis stalwart Robbie Paul could be over after he was overlooked for the British leg of the Tri-Nations series.

After reading about his omission in an English newspaper, the 27-test veteran accepted he might have worn the black jersey for the last time but insisted he had no plans to officially call time on his Kiwis career.

"I don't think I'll ever retire," Paul said.

"I'll always be available if they want me. I'll probably still be available when I'm 80. Any chance you get to play for your country you take.

"I'm only 29 and if (Kiwis captain) Ruben Wiki can still be running around out there at his age then I'd like to think I could get another game or two out of myself somewhere down the line."

The Kiwis left Auckland today after losing the Tri-Nations test 26-28 to Australia last night.

Their next test is against Great Britain at Huddersfield on Sunday morning (NZ time) and Britain-based players, winger Lesley Vainikolo and second rower Ali Lauiti'iti, will link up with the squad in London ahead of that game.

Paul, who lives in Britain permanently, said he was happy to remain on call should the Kiwis selectors require him later in the tournament.

After scoring a try on debut against Australia in 1997, Paul went on to score 13 tries in 27 international appearances.

Throughout his career he has often been the only British-based player in the Kiwis but he has struggled to recapture his best form since breaking his arm in three places in 2003.

An ankle injury suffered in the 2004 Anzac test against Australia when he was knocked out by a Danny Buderis tackle seemed to further erode his confidence and, after an unhappy outing against Australia in London, he was dropped for the final test of the Kiwis' 2004 Tri-Nations campaign.

Paul has also struggled to nail down a regular starting position at Bradford, where he has been used primarily as a makeshift hooker in recent seasons.

After 305 matches and 12 seasons at Bradford, where he appeared in a record six grand finals -- winning three -- Paul is looking to rejuvenate his career with a close-season switch to Huddersfield Giants.

With or without him, Paul believes the Kiwis have a genuine chance of lifting the Tri-Nations title after they won the opening match 38-28 over Australia in Sydney last weekend.

"If they maintain their form I don't see why they can't do it," he said.

"And there is no reason why they shouldn't maintain their form.

"Most of the guys have had six or seven weeks' rest and they should now be toughened after two matches against the best team in the world.

"We were pretty awesome against the Aussies. We just fell in a couple of holes but the enthusiasm and skill the boys showed was fantastic.

"Some of the teams I've been involved with in the past have fallen asleep in games and never woken up.

"But now we seem to be able to recover, to rebuild that shield wall and get our defence going again. In the second test we probably just ran out of time."

- NZPA