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| Full name | Naphtali Walker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1982-10-09)9 October 1982 (age 42) Leeds, West Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 16 st 5 lb (104 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre, Second-row, Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 12 Jul 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chev Walker (born 9 October 1982) is an English former professionalrugby league footballer who last played for theBradford Bulls in theChampionship. He played both rugby league andrugby union professionally. AGreat Britain andEngland international representativecentre, Walker played in theSuper League for theLeeds Rhinos,Hull Kingston Rovers and the Bradford Bulls.[1][2][3][4]
He played the position ofcentre for Leeds and he made his début against Halifax on 13 August 1999 aged 16.
In July 2003, Walker was found guilty of brawling in the street inLeeds, and was sent to a young offenders' institution for 18 months. The other offenders were Leeds teammatesRyan Bailey (sentenced to nine months' detention in a young offenders' institution) andDwayne Barker (ordered to do 150 hours of community service) andRochdale Hornets' Paul Owen (jailed for 15 months).[5]
He is of Jamaican heritage[6] and expressed a desire to represent the West Indies.[7]Just after his 18th birthday Walker played for England in the2000 Rugby League World Cup[citation needed] and made his Great Britain début in 2004, coming off the bench against Australia in the opening game of that year'sTri Nations competition. In total Walker has six caps for Great Britain and six for England. He also has representative league honours with England A, England Under-21s and Yorkshire.
Walker featured in the Rugby LeagueChallenge Cup Final in 2003. He played for theLeeds club at centre in their2004 Super League Grand Final victory againstBradford. AsSuper League IX champions, Leeds faced2004 NRL season premiers, theCanterbury side in the2005 World Club Challenge. Walker played at centre and scored atry in Leeds' 39–32 victory. Walker played for Leeds in the2005 Challenge Cup Final at centre in their loss againstHull F.C.[8] By the end of the 2005 season he had scored 75 tries in 156 appearances for Leeds, an average of almost one try every two games. He was also part of the Leeds team which won the2005 World Club Challenge when Leeds defeated theCanterbury Bulldogs. He played for theLeeds Rhinos at centre in their2005 Super League Grand Final loss againstBradford Bulls.
On 6 June 2006, it was announced that Walker had signed for the Englishrugby union teamBath RFC, and would join the club from the end of the Rugby League season in November 2006.[9][10][11]
Chev returned to Leeds Rhinos in 2020 and is assistant head coach withScott Grix underRohan Smith.
On 19 Jun 2024 he jointly took over the head-coach role, withScott Grix, as an interim measure, following the immediate departure ofRohan Smith.[12] On 10 Jul 2024 he returned to his role as assistant coach once the appointment ofBrad Arthur, for the remainder of the 2024 season, as new head coach was confirmed.[13]
England's union coach,Brian Ashton, identified Walker as a player with international potential when he helped to sign him in his previous role at Bath but the 24-year-old centre struggled to settle after moving south from Leeds on a two-year contract, and made only eightGuinness Premiership starts.[citation needed]
Walker was linked with a return to rugby league with various clubs before signing forHull Kingston Rovers in September 2007.
Walker began playing forHull Kingston Rovers at the start of the2008 Super League season. On 18 September 2009, Walker suffered a horrific compound leg fracture in the Super League title playoff against Champions Leeds.[14]Bradford Bulls signed Walker on a one-year deal at the end of the 2010 season.
Walker appeared in two of the four pre-season games. Walker played againstHalifax andWakefield Trinity. Walker featured in Round 1 (Leeds) to Round 3 (Crusaders). He then played in six consecutive games from Round 8 (Harlequins RL) to Round 13 (Warrington). He featured in Round 26 (Crusaders) and Round 27 (Wakefield Trinity). Walker also featured in theChallenge Cup game against Halifax. He picked up a pectoral injury which kept him out all season. Walker scored a try againstHull F.C. He signed a one-year extension to his contract.[citation needed]
Walker appeared in three of the four pre-season games. He played againstCastleford,Dewsbury and Hull F.C. He scored a try against Castleford. Walker featured in three consecutive games from Round 1 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 3 (Wigan). He missed Rounds 4–5 due to an injury. He then featured in three consecutive games from Round 6 (Hull Kingston Rovers) to Round 8 (Salford). He missed Rounds 9–11 and Round 4 of theChallenge Cup due to injury. He featured in Round 15 (Leeds). He was then injured for Rounds 16–18. He returned for Rounds 19 (Wigan) to 27 (Catalans Dragons). Walker signed a one-year extension to his current contract to keep him atOdsal until the end of 2013.
Walker featured in the pre-season friendlies againstDewsbury andLeeds. He featured in six consecutive games from Round 1 (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) to Round 6 (Widnes). Walker was injured for Round 7. Walker featured in Round 8 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 9 (Leeds Rhinos|Leeds). Walker missed Round 10 due to injury. Walker returned and played in Round 11 (London Broncos) to Round 17 (Hull Kingston Rovers). He was injured for Round 18–19. He returned in Round 20 (Warrington Wolves) and then in Round 23 (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) to Round 26 (London Broncos). Walker featured in theChallenge Cup againstRochdale and theLondon Broncos. Walker signed a one-year extension to his contract with the option of another year midway through the season. Walker then signed a further one-year extension on his contract despite the Bradford club being relegated to the Championship. He was named captain for the 2015 season. Walker retired from professional rugby league at the end of the 2015 season.[citation needed]
| Season | Appearance | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Bradford | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 Bradford | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 Bradford | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 2014 Bradford | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2015 Bradford | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 84 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
In November 2019, Chev & Lauren Walker appeared on George Clarke's TV programmeOld House, New Home[15]
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