Cooksley out of Super 12
January 20, 2002

All Blacks and Chiefs lock Mark Cooksley will miss the entire Super 12 competition due to a recurring neck injury.

Cooksley had regained his place in the New Zealand line-up last year after a four-year absence, but injured his shoulder just before the first match against Samoa in June.

He finally got his 10th cap as a replacement in the last-minute 26-29 Tri Nations loss to Australia in Sydney, but then injured his neck playing for his provincial side, Waikato, in the National Provincial Championship in October.

The biggest man to play for the All Blacks at 2.02m and 125kg, Cooksley made a superb comeback during 2001 when then Chiefs coach and new All Blacks coach John Mitchell handed him a lifeline.

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