 A descendant of Ngāpuhi, he regularly played for New Zealand Māori throughout his career, from 1992 up until 2001, when he featured in the match against the Wallabies.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, 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 for the Super 12.