Born: March 28, 1978 – Sydney
Test record: 38 Tests (1998-2001, 2003-08) – 3 tries (12 points)
Tours: 1998 tour of Britain, 1999 Tri Nations, 2000 World Cup, 2004 Tri Nations, 2005 Tri Nations, 2006 Tri Nations, 2008 World Cup

Nathan Cayless’ Kiwis legacy is preserved by his role as captain of New Zealand’s historic 2008 Rugby League World Cup triumph, while the rugged front-rower’s Test career spanned more than a decade and he skippered Parramatta Eels to two NRL grand finals during a record-breaking club tenure.

Born in Sydney, Cayless represented Australian Schoolboys in 1995-96 but opted to honour his New Zealand and Māori heritage by pledging his international allegiance to the Kiwis. That opportunity initially came as a 20-year-old in 1998 after only 20 first-grade games for the Eels, coming off the bench in all five end-of-season Tests against Australia and Great Britain.

The forward tyro faced the Kangaroos three times in 1999 and played all six matches of the Kiwis’ 2000 World Cup campaign. Meanwhile, he was installed as Parramatta’s captain before turning 22, leading the club to a preliminary final in 2000 and runaway minor premiership success in 2001, ultimately going down to Newcastle in the grand final of the latter campaign.

Cayless also captained New Zealand for the first time in 2001 in one-Tests against France and Australia, but he missed the following season’s international program.

Returning to the black-and-white jersey at the end of 2003, he started in the front-row alongside younger brother, Jason (who had played the first of 11 Tests in 2002), in a stunning 30-16 victory over Australia at North Harbour.

Cayless led the Kiwis in the 2004 Anzac Test and was a near-permanent fixture in the Test line-up for the next five seasons, aside from the latter stages of the triumph 2005 Tri Nations foray as he awaited the birth of his first child and the 2007 tour of Britain and France due to injury.

With incumbent Roy Asotasi unavailable, Cayless regained the captaincy for the Kiwis’ 2008 World Cup campaign and held the trophy aloft after their unforgettable 34-20 upset of the Kangaroos in the Suncorp Stadium-hosted final.

The veteran of 38 Tests – the fifth-most for the Kiwis at the time – retired from international rugby league in early-2009 to focus his energy on club football. Cayless captained Parramatta on an iconic late-season charge and to another grand final that year, a spirited defeat to Melbourne.

The universally admired and ultra-consistent prop created premiership history by becoming the first player to captain a club in 200 top-grade matches and overtook Brad Fittler’s all-time captaincy record of 216 matches. Cayless called time on his 259-game NRL career at the end of 2010, having illustrated his durability by playing at least 21 games in each of his last six seasons for the Eels.

Cayless moved into coaching, holding lower-grade and assistant roles with Wentworthville Magpies, Parramatta, the Warriors and the Kiwis. He was inducted into the NZRL Legends of League in 2024.