In 1989 he spent ten weeks in Australia with the Canberra Raiders as part of the New Zealand Rugby League's "Rookie Scheme".
[3] In 1990 he was selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team and played in two Test matches against Papua New Guinea.
[4][5] From there he was selected as part of the Kiwis touring side to Great Britain and France but did not play in any Test matches.
Nixon is a long-standing current employee of the Aviation security services of New Zealand, based at Christchurch International Airport.
[citation needed] Previous to this between his stints overseas playing Rugby League, Nixon had a long association with NZ Post.