Nicholls made his first-class debut for Wellington a year after leaving Wellington College and in the following year, 1921, he played in all three tests against South Africa. Despite an acknowledged brilliance at five-eighth, Nicholls wasn't always an automatic choice. He toured New South Wales in 1922, but was overlooked for a series against the same opponents in the following year. He was the leading points scorer on the Invincible All Blacks' tour in 1924-25, during which he was generally lauded as one of the "brains trust" of that most successful of sides. He was vice-captain of the 1928 All Blacks in South Africa, but surprisingly missed all but the last test, in which he was largely responsible for the All Blacks' 13-5 win. Nicholls was a Wellington selector in the 30s, a New Zealand selector in 1936-37 and a North Island selector in 1948. Two of his brothers, Harry ("Ginger") and Harold ("Doc") were Wellington All Blacks in the early 20s. Return to the Inductee list