Former Great Britain captain Paul Sculthorpe, whose recent career has been plagued by injuries, announced his retirement on Friday.

The 30-year-old St Helens forward has been restricted to just 26 appearances in the last two years due to knee, Achilles tendon and shoulder injuries.

Sculthorpe began his professional career at Warrington and signed with Saints in January 1997 for a then world record fee for a forward of 370,000 pounds ($A835,300).

He was appointed St Helens skipper in 2004, lifted the Challenge Cup following a triumph over Wigan in Cardiff and produced one of his finest moments when he came off the bench to inspire his side to a memorable victory over the Brisbane Broncos in the 2007 World Club Challenge.

His last competitive match was this year's Challenge Cup final at Wembley when he suffered a dislocated shoulder in the opening moments of Saints' win over Hull.

With 1,246 points from his 261 appearances, Sculthorpe is ninth in St Helens' all-time list of scorers.

Sculthorpe won 26 caps for Great Britain and succeeded Andy Farrell as national team captain in 2005.

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