Louisa Wall: Mother knows best about code choice

It seems that mothers are a huge influence on what sports their sons play after all. Ryan Nelsen's mum wore the pants, so to speak (his words), and hence his affinity with soccer as opposed to rugby, the main game from dad's perspective.

And what a wonderful choice mum made early on which was reinforced later in life when Nelsen had other choices (most notably cricket) but chose soccer in spite of a context where public acclaim and support was synonymous with a rather staunch Christchurch cricketing community.

That love for sport and burning desire to be the best have seen him nearly achieve his ultimate goal of playing in an FA Cup final.

And so the oldest club soccer competition in the world endures and this long and proud history provides an insight into the parochialism that even outguns that of the staunchest Cantab.

Nelsen, 27-year-old All Whites captain and central defender for Blackburn Rovers, is what the fans have dubbed the bargain of the century. But Rovers were not up to the task last weekend when they went down 3-0 to Arsenal in the FA Cup semifinal.

Nelsen's previous professional career was as captain of DC United in the US professional league where he played four seasons before being spotted by Blackburn manager Mark Hughes.

Without a doubt, Nelsen's greatest honour has been to captain his country. He made his international debut in 1999 appearing in all three matches for New Zealand at the Fifa Confederations Cup in Mexico, which included a spot in the starting XI against Brazil and Germany.

In 2001 he played in all six qualifiers for the Kiwis, but New Zealand lost the Oceania berth to Australia in a home and away series.

In 2002, with NZ hosting the Oceania Cup, Nelsen scored three goals, including a tournament-winning volley against Australia, as the Kiwis swept through the competition.

In 2004, he was All Whites captain in the Oceania Nations Cup, but the Kiwis did not perform to their potential in the tournament, with an early upset loss to Vanuatu.

Nelsen had a bit to say about the management of the team, which contributed to that performance. This did not go down too well but if things needed to be said, then this is a captain's responsibility.

At Blackburn, he has occasionally been handed the club captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Andy Todd.

Given Nelsen's hard work and commitment to any task he is given, it seems he will have his contract extended well past his current deal after this season (with a visa exemption if required, fingers crossed).

It would be a warranted reward for his excellent performances on the pitch.

Nelsen has been described as a "revelation" and he has been credited with lifting Rovers from the bottom of the table into a relatively safe position.

So, although he was gutted by their FA Cup semi defeat, he was already focused on Rovers' mid-week match against Sheffield Wednesday.

In addition to his sporting success, Nelsen has also completed a political science degree at Stanford University.

This proud Kiwi, in similar tradition to the likes of David Kirk, is setting himself up perfectly for a career off the sports field.

And it is worth noting that Kirk, as chief executive of PMP, has been making headlines in Australia after being named CEO of the Year and Leader of the Year at the inaugural Australian Human Capital Awards.

It is always satisfying to see a Kiwi beat the Aussies on their home turf whatever the contest.

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand netball and rugby representative