Cooksley played for the New Zealand Schoolboys' side in 1962 and 1963. He played in twenty two games, including thirteen test matches for New Zealand between 1969 and 1972, and was included in the squads for the
1970 and
1972 World Cups and the 1971 tour of Great Britain and France. After the 1972 World Cup, he spent a season with French club
Avignon. In 1974 Cooksley played for the
South Island against the touring
Great Britain Lions. Between 1975 and 1977 he was the
player-coach of Eastern Suburbs before spending a season each with Kaiapoi and Addington. ==References==