Mark Stephen Bill Cooksley (born 11 April 1971 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand) is a former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

. Cooksley was the tallest All Black ever at 2.05 metres and 125 kg, until this was surpassed by Dominic Bird (2.08 metres), who made his test debut for the All Blacks in 2013. He had a long All Black career, spanning from 1992 until 2001. Despite this, Cooksley only played in 23 All Black matches, and only 11 All Black tests. This could be attributed to many injuries he sustained during his career, as well as

Robin Brooke Robin Matthew Brooke (born 10 December 1966 in Warkworth, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand rugby player. He played for the New Zealand national rugby union team in the 1990s, playing many tests alongside brother Zinzan Brooke. Career B ...

and Ian Jones often being the favoured locking pair during this time. A descendant of

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

, he regularly played for New Zealand Māori throughout his career, from 1992 up until 2001, when he featured in the match against the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

. In 1995, Cooksley gained another distinction when he was a replacement on the end of year tour of France; in his one appearance on tour he became the first All Black to be shown a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

, with Irish referee Gordon Black apparently unaware that the red and yellow card system did not then apply to international rugby. In 1997, having been out of the All Black side since the 1995 tour of France, Cooksley was drafted into the

Wellington Hurricanes The Hurricanes ( ; ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional men's rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East ...

for the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

. Cooksley consistently played well that season, helping the Hurricanes to reach the semi-finals, and he was rewarded with an All Black recall for the end of year tour to Britain and Ireland, although he only featured in the mid-week matches. In 2000, it appeared that his rugby career was over as he struggled to make the Waikato NPC side. However, he was selected for the Chiefs side for the Super 12 in 2001, and earned an All Black recall that year, where he played in two Tri-Nations matches. A serious back injury forced Cooksley to retire at the end of that year. Cooksley now works as General Manager for the Central North Island branch of Directionz in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. He has also been involved in coaching rugby at club level.

References

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* 1971 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union locks Māori All Blacks players Waikato rugby union players Counties Manukau rugby union players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Auckland People educated at Manurewa High School {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1970s-stub