Bert Cooke (rugby)

Albert "Bert" Edward Cooke (5 October 1901 – 29 September 1977) was a New Zealand dual-code international rugby footballer of the 1920s and 1930s, who represented for New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league.[1]

For the New Zealand rugby footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, see Bert Cook (rugby).

For the British football manager, see Bert Cooke.

Bert Cooke

Cooke in 1924
Personal information
Full name	Albert Edward Cooke
Born	(1901-10-05)5 October 1901 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	29 September 1977(1977-09-29) (aged 75) Auckland, New Zealand
Playing information
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	61.6 kg (136 lb)
Rugby union
Position	Second five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1923–1925 Grafton RFC Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1923–25 Auckland 1924–30 New Zealand 8 4 0 0 12 1926, 31–32 Hawke's Bay 1927–29 Wairarapa 1930 Wellington
Rugby league
Position	Fullback, Centre, Stand-off
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1932 Richmond Rovers 3 3 1 0 11 1932 Ponsonby United (guest) 1 2 1 0 8 Total 4 5 2 0 19 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1932 Auckland 2 2 0 0 6 1932 North Island 1 3 0 0 9 1932–35 New Zealand 5 2 0 0 6
Coaching information
Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 1936 Auckland
Source: [1]

Early years

Born in Auckland in 1901, Cooke was the son of Albert Edward Cooke, a hairdresser, and his wife Sarah Jane Cooke (née Peterson).[2] Cooke was educated at Hamilton East Primary and Hamilton Boys' High School.[3]

Rugby union career

Albert Cook passport application (1924)

Cooke joined the Grafton rugby union club in 1919 and graduated to senior club rugby in 1923. In that same year he made his Auckland debut and was a reserve for New Zealand against New South Wales. He was then part of the 1924–1925 "Invincibles" side that toured Great Britain. He again played for the All Blacks in 1925 and 1926 but withdrew from the 1928 tour of South Africa for business reasons.[3] He did play twice in 1928 for New Zealand against New South Wales before making his last Test appearances in 1930 against Great Britain.

Cooke played for the North Island in 1931 and spent 1932 with Hawke's Bay, before switching codes. Cooke also represented Wairarapa and Wellington while playing rugby union.[4] He finished his rugby union career with 121 tries in 131 first class matches.[3]

Rugby league career

Cooke joined the Richmond Rovers club in the Auckland Rugby League competition in 1932 and made an immediate impact, racing away for three tries in the inter-island game only weeks later.[5] He was selected for New Zealand that year against the Great Britain Lions. Cooke also represented Auckland and captained New Zealand in two Test matches against Australia in 1935.[6][1] He coached Auckland in 1936.[5]

Later years

With the outbreak of World War II, Cooke joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and played rugby union for that service in the 1940 Auckland club competition.[3] He died in Auckland in 1977.[3]

References

1. "Bert Cooke". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. McLean, T.P. "Cooke, Albert Edward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
3. Luxford, Bob. "Bert Cooke". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
4. "Statistics at espnscrum.com". espnscrum.com. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
5. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4, p.103.
6. COOKE, Albert Edward 1932, 1935 – Kiwi #219 Archived 1 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz