Mark Byron Nixon is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

(

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, as a .

Playing career

Nixon played for the Hornby club in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition and represented

. In 1989 he spent ten weeks in Australia with the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

as part of the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

's "Rookie Scheme". In 1990 he was selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

and played in two Test matches against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. Later that year he moved to England, joining the

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

for the 1990/91 season. In 1993 Nixon captained Canterbury and was selected as a Kiwi triallist.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1993'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

, 1993. p.p.192-202 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. In 1994 Nixon was part of the

Canterbury Country Cardinals The Canterbury Country Cardinals were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. They were administered by the Canterbury Rugby League. The Country Cardinals drew f ...

in the new

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

, 1994. p.110 At the end of the year he again moved to England, playing for the

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

during the 1994/95 season. Nixon again represented Canterbury in 1997.Nixon replaces brother
''The Press'', 14 May 1997 He played for Hornby.

Later years

Nixon is a long-standing current employee of the Aviation security services of New Zealand, based at Christchurch International Airport. Previous to this between his stints overseas playing Rugby League, Nixon had a long association with NZ Post.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Mark Living people New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players 1968 births Canterbury rugby league team players Featherstone Rovers players Rochdale Hornets players New Zealand rugby league commentators Hornby Panthers players Junior Kiwis players Rugby league five-eighths