First capped by Canterbury in 2005 during a Ranfurly Shield match against Nelson Bays, the Mid-Canterbury-raised Peter Nixon made an excellent fist of Super rugby in 2007 after being promoted to the Crusaders from the Canterbury B side. A versatile loose forward who is comfortable either at the back of the scrum or on the openside flank, Nixon spearheaded the Canterbury B side to a shock championship semi-final win over a previously unbeaten Auckland outfit at Eden Park, and was back at the ground five months later to make his Rebel Super 14 debut. The hard working Christchurch club loose forward appeared three times during his freshman season with the Crusaders. He then played on-loan with Tasman in the second Air New Zealand Cup before a shoulder injury there ruled him out of Super rugby for 2008.