Geoff Cooke OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 11 June 1941) is a former England Rugby

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

 coach.

Early career

During his playing career he played mainly as a Centre/Fly Half 1962-72 and captained his Club and his County. Cooke also attended York St John University

York St John University

York St John University York St John University York St John University (formerly known variously as York St John University College (2004), York St John College (2001), Ripon and York St John: a College of the University of Leeds (c. 1996), University College of Ripon and York St John...

. He was coach to Bradford RFC 1973 to 1975, coach to Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 Rugby Football Union 1975-9, then Chairman of Selectors from 1980-85. He was a North of England selector from 1979-1987.

Management

Cooke was appointed Manager of the England Rugby Union Team in October 1987 and led the England Rugby team in 49 international matches between 1987 and 1994 including two tours to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

/Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 and one to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

Under his leadership, England won successive (1991 and 1992) Grand Slams

Grand Slam (Rugby Union)

In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...

 in the 5 Nations Championship, were runners-up in the 1991 World Cup

1991 Rugby World Cup

The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...

 and winners of the 1993 World Cup Sevens

1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens

The inaugural 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in April 1993. The International Rugby Board invited the established rugby union nations but also were keen to involve emerging nations in the event, recognising the fact that Sevens was providing the bridge...

.

In 1993 he was made Manager of the British Lions

1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand

In 1993 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. This tour followed the Lions' 1989 tour to Australia and preceded their 1997 tour to South Africa. It was the last Lions tour in the sport's amateur era....

 rugby union tour to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Recent years

In recent years he has been Chief Executive and Director of Rugby at Bedford Rugby Club

Bedford Blues

Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...

 guiding them to promotion to the Premiership in 1998 and Chief Executive at Wakefield Rugby Club

Wakefield RFC

Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901, and which dropped out of the English leagues in 2004 as a result of the effects of professionalism...

 and Worcester Rugby Club until his retirement from full-time employment in April 2002.

Back in the amateur ranks he rejoined his former club, Bradford & Bingley as Director of Rugby, guiding them to promotion to North One in his first season and then taking them straight through in 2003-04 to a second successive promotion to National League Three (North) and also winning the Intermediate Cup at Twickenham

Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...

.

Now retired from coaching he is Executive Director of First Division Rugby Limited, the collective organisation of sixteen clubs competing in National League One of the English Rugby Union

Rugby Football Union

The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...

 Clubs Championship.

Personal life

He is married to Susan with two sons, Andrew (born 1972) and David (born 1976).

He was awarded the O.B.E for services to Rugby Football

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 in June 1992.

He has two books (Rugby Union - 1981 EP Sport & Skilful Rugby Union - 1991 A & C Black) to his name and is the author of numerous articles on sports coaching.

Sources

• Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001.