New Zealand Nelson grew up playing rugby league, playing for the
Glenora Bears in the
Auckland Rugby League competition. Nelson was signed by the
Auckland Warriors and played for their Colts side in the
1995 Lion Red Cup. In 1996, he was involved in the
Waitakere City Raiders side that lost the
Lion Red Cup grand final, despite Boycie scoring three tries. He was then selected in the
Lion Red Cup XIII that played against the touring
Papua New Guinea team.
England In 1997, Nelson travelled to England and joined the
Widnes Vikings. Here he played alongside fellow Glenora players
Ben Lythe, who would also later join the Warriors, and
Brian Jellick who later became a Kiwi and played for the
North Queensland Cowboys. In 1998, Nelson returned to the
Glenora Bears. He represented
Auckland in the
1998 domestic season and toured Papua New Guinea with the
New Zealand Māori.
Warriors In 1999 he was signed by the
Auckland Warriors and played five games in the
National Rugby League. During 1999 Nelson also played for the
Glenora Bears in the
Auckland Rugby League competition and represented Auckland North in the
National Provincial competition.
World Cup Nelson was selected in the
Aotearoa Māori squad at the
2000 Rugby League World Cup. He played two games for the Māori at the tournament and scored two tries. He also toured Australia with the
New Zealand Residents in 2000.
Bartercard Cup After ending his connections with the Warriors, Nelson returned to New Zealand Domestic competition and played for the
Otahuhu Leopards in the new
Bartercard Cup competition. He remained with the side until the end of the 2003 season.
France In 2004 he played for
Limoux Grizzlies in their successful
Challenge Cup run, which was ended by an 80–20 loss to
Wigan in round five. He scored the first and the third try for Limoux, David Cenet scored the other one. He also played the final of the French cup in 2005 with Limoux.
Back in New Zealand Nelson later played for the
Waitakere Rangers in the
Bartercard Cup, and again represented the
New Zealand Māori in 2006, playing in the
Pacific Cup. He later joined the police and in 2008 represented the
New Zealand Police at the
inaugural Police World Cup. He played for the
Glenora Bears in the
2010 Fox Memorial and in 2012 was a co-coach at the club. ==Coaching career==