For over a decade from the mid-forties to mid-fifties, George William 'Racer' Nelson,  was one of West Coast's rugby's standout players, while playing and captaining the side during a golden era of West Coast Rugby.

Often described as a 'model of physical fitness', those that can still recall Nelson's on field feats, will attest to that description as a very fitting one.

Born in Greymouth on the 14th of November 1922, he'd follow his father George's footsteps, in playing both for the Star Rugby Football Club and the West Coast team, with both father and son also sharing the nickname of 'Racer', following their love for horses and trotting.

George senior was a standout for the Star club that earned many senior club championship titles, including four in a row from 1911 to 1914, with George also earning 38 West Coast caps as a five eight/three quarter, between 1910 and 1926. He would have earned a lot more caps if it had not of been for World War One, with George serving in the conflict from 1916 to 1918.

George junior would first represent West Coast in 1944 as a loose forward, making his debut in a home loss to Canterbury at Rugby Park, with the Christchurch Press commenting, that Nelson "was always in the thick of the battle for West Coast'. He'd play in all of West Coast's six games that season, at a time when his Star club and United club were forced to combine for the first of two seasons to make a Star-United team, as so many players from each club were away on active duty for the second world war.

The 1944 season would also see Nelson score two tries, both at home in two fixtures against Buller, with West Coast winning both encounters in close affairs.

In 1945, Nelson earned another six caps, with the New Zealand Rugby Almanac describing him as a "good forward",  and a "most useful all-round player in tight and loose". Throughout the 1946 and 1947 seasons, he'd earn another 13 caps, while in the 1948 season, he'd be selected as West Coast captain for the first time, in the sides final fixture of the year.

The result was 21-6 loss to Buller in a Seddon Shield challenge in Westport, and despite the loss, Nelson would show his versatility as an all-round footballer, by kicking a penalty goal in the match while playing number 8.

The 1949 season didn't get off to best of starts for Nelson, as after playing 30 games for West Coast, he was dropped for the first match of the season by the selection panel consisting of J. Pegley, W. Blair and B. Kelly.

Despite this set back, Nelson was recalled for the next game, and would play the remaining eight fixtures.  If 1949 got off to a rough start for Nelson, it would include a wonderful high, as he was vice captain for the West Coast-Buller combined side, in its famous 17-15 victory over the Wallabies at Rugby Park.

In a somewhat spiteful and controversial encounter, the Greymouth Star reported "periods of play were among the roughest ever seen in a Rugby match-international or otherwise". Regarding Nelson's performance in the match, it went on to say that "G. Nelson must have played the best game of his career".

Nelson would also be involved in a nasty incident that required "ambulance attention", with 14 stone Wallaby prop forward Bevan Wilson temporarily being sent from the field for kicking Nelson in the head, with the infringement costing his side three points, as Jim Lindbom kicked the penalty from in front of the posts. After the penalty had been kicked, referee Bob Pratt from Buller then recalled Wilson from the grandstand after a 'cooling down period' to continue in the match.

In 1950, Nelson was again the captain of the side, and he'd lead his side against the British and Irish Lions in a 32-3 loss, while also heroically leading his side to Seddon Shield glory against Buller in Westport, in what was described as a 'dramatic struggle'. In the 6-3 victory, Nelson's performance was described as "truly playing a captain's game that day".

The match was also the only time in his representative career he was forced to retire from the match with injury, after Nelson and Buller forward Warner Cunniffe collided head on and lay prone across each other in the centre of the field.

As Nelson was being taken from the field on a stretcher, he uttered the famous words to his teammates, "Don't let the bastards beat you", with the phrase earning Nelson a new nickname of Horatio. Nelson would recover from his injury to play the remainder of the season, including three defences of the Seddon Shield, and a close 17-12 loss away to Canterbury.

The 1951 season was another fine year for Nelson, as he captained his West Coast side to a victory over Canterbury at Rugby Park in the first game of the season, with the side also remaining unbeaten at home, and retaining the Seddon Shield, with the only loss of the season coming against Canterbury in Christchurch. Nelson would also play two All Black trials, with some judging him as most unlucky not to have earned a Silver Fern.

Nelson would again lead West Coast to Seddon Shield success in 1952, with the side retaining the prized shield for the entire season, but West Coast's quest for Ranfurly Shield success fell short, with West Coast losing 20-6 to Waikato in Hamilton, in front of 19,651 spectators at Rugby Park, Hamilton. The crowd was a then a record attendance for a match in Hamilton, with many spectators having to be turned away.

A match report of Nelson's performance that day stated, "No West Coast forward made a better impression than the captain Nelson, whose energy and zeal never flagged". "In the tight and the loose, he was always outstanding". 

Nelson's fine form that season earned him selection in the South Island Minor Unions XV, a side he would captain to a 24-17 victory over the North Island Minor Unions at Athletic Park in Wellington. Nelson scored a try, with fellow West Coast team mates also featuring, winger Eric Walker crossing the line for two tries, and fullback Jim Lindbom kicking three conversions.

Nelson would also be rewarded with selection as a reserve in the South Island team for the Interisland match played at Carisbrook in Dunedin, with the Kevin Skinner led South Island side winning, 11-3.

1953 would see Nelson gain another All Black trial after another fine season for his province, where he would score a try and kick the only conversion of his career. Sadly for West Coast, the side would lose the Seddon Shield to Buller in the final game of the season.

The 1954 New Zealand Rugby Almanac wrote 'Nelson again proved an inspiring leader and playing this season in the front row he had much to do with the success enjoyed". That success included a 3-0 victory over Canterbury in the first game of the season, before retaking the Seddon Shield from Buller in Westport in emphatic style, with a comprehensive 21-0 victory, and an entertaining and high scoring 27-32 loss to a star-studded Centurions side at Rugby Park.

The 1955 season would be the last in the illustrious representative career of the then 33-year-old Nelson, with the 5'11-foot, 13 stone prop captaining West Coast for the first three games of West Coast's five match season, before not being required for the final two games of the campaign, thus bringing the end of the representative career of a true West Coast Rugby legend.

In total, Nelson would play 86 representative matches for West Coast from 1944 to 1955, and he remains one of West Coast rugby's most capped players of all time. Nelson scored 14 tries and kicked 2 penalty goals for West Coast, also playing for the West Coast-Buller combined side in 1945, 1947 and 1949, two for New Zealand Railways, one match for the South Island Minor Unions, reserving for the South Island team on one occasion, while playing in three All Black trials.

Nelson would play a total of 93 first class games, scoring 18 tries and kicking 2 penalties and 1 conversion for a total of 62 points.

Away from the rugby field, George would also follow his father's footsteps and have a long connection with the Greymouth Fire Brigade, with 28 years of service, culminating in a two-year spell as Chief Fire Officer, from August 1966, to September 1968. His father George was also Chief Fire Officer of the Greymouth Brigade, from November 1953, to December 1957, and served 44 years with the brigade.

George was also a publican, owning the Dominion Hotel in Greymouth, while also working as a boiler maker for New Zealand Railways.

George William Nelson, one of West Coast's greatest players of all time, passed away in Geraldine on the 12th of August 2005, aged 82.