View source for Chev Walker

{{Short description|Former GB & England international rugby league & union footballer}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
| new         = yes
| name        = Chev Walker
| fullname    = Naphtali Walker
| image       = Chev Walker Leeds.jpg
| image_size  = 285
| caption     =
| height      = {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
| weight      = {{convert|16|st|5|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1982|10|9}}
| birth_place = [[Leeds]], West Yorkshire, England
| position    = {{rlp|WG|CE|SR|LF}}
| club1       = [[Leeds Rhinos]]
| year1start  = 1999
| year1end    = 06
| appearances1 = 183
| tries1       = 86
| goals1       = 0
| fieldgoals1  = 0
| points1      = 344
| club2        = {{nowrap|[[Hull Kingston Rovers]]}}
| year2start   = 2008
| year2end       = 10
| appearances2   = 34
| tries2         = 5
| goals2         = 0
| fieldgoals2    = 0
| points2        = 20
| club3          = [[Bradford Bulls]]
| year3start     = 2011
| year3end       = 15
| appearances3   = 84
| tries3         = 8
| goals3         = 0
| fieldgoals3    = 0
| points3        = 32
| teamA          = [[Yorkshire rugby league team|Yorkshire]]
| yearAstart     = 2001
| yearAend       = 03
| appearancesA   = 2
| triesA         = 0
| goalsA         = 0
| fieldgoalsA    = 0
| pointsA        = 0
| teamB          = [[England national rugby league team|England]]
| yearBstart     = 2000
| yearBend       = 01
| appearancesB   = 6
| triesB         = 2
| goalsB         = 0
| fieldgoalsB    = 0
| pointsB        = 8
| teamC          = [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]]
| yearCstart     = 2004
| yearCend       = 05
| appearancesC   = 6
| triesC         = 1
| goalsC         = 0
| fieldgoalsC    = 0
| pointsC        = 4
| ru_position         = [[Centre (rugby union)|Centre]]
| ru_club1            = [[Bath Rugby|Bath]]
| ru_year1start       = 2006
| ru_year1end         = 07
| ru_appearances1     = 8
| ru_tries1           = 0
| ru_goals1           = 0
| ru_fieldgoals1      = 0
| ru_points1          = 0
| ru_teamA            = [[England Saxons national rugby union team|England Saxons]]
| ru_yearAstart       = 2007
| ru_yearAend         = 
| ru_appearancesA     = 
| ru_triesA           =
| ru_goalsA           =
| ru_fieldgoalsA      =
| ru_pointsA          = 
| coachteam1          = {{nowrap|[[Leeds Rhinos]] (interim)}}
| coachyear1start     = 2024
| coachyear1end       = 
| coachgames1         = 3
| coachwins1          = 2
| coachdraws1         = 0
| coachlosses1        = 1
| updated             = 12 Jul 2024
| retired             = no
| source              = <ref name="Profile at loverugbyleague.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.loverugbyleague.com/stats/players/Chev-Walker/ |title=Profile at loverugbyleague.com|publisher=loverugbyleague.com|date=31 December 2017|accessdate=1 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/chev-walker/summary.html|title=Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org|publisher=rugbyleagueproject.org|date=31 December 2017|accessdate=1 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.englandrl.co.uk/player_records?search=Walker&submit=Go&c=England|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421030430/http://www.englandrl.co.uk/player_records?search=Walker&submit=Go&c=England|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2018|title=England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk|publisher=englandrl.co.uk|date=31 December 2017|accessdate=1 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.englandrl.co.uk/player_records?search=Walker&submit=Go&c=GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420203014/http://www.englandrl.co.uk/player_records?search=Walker&submit=Go&c=GB|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 April 2018|title=Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk|publisher=englandrl.co.uk|date=31 December 2017|accessdate=1 January 2018}}</ref>
}}

'''Chev Walker''' (born 9 October 1982) is an English former professional [[rugby league]] footballer who last played for the [[Bradford Bulls]] in the [[Championship (rugby league)|Championship]]. He played both rugby league and [[rugby union]] professionally. A [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]] and [[England national rugby league team|England]] international representative {{rlp|ce}}, Walker played in the [[Super League]] for the [[Leeds Rhinos]], [[Hull Kingston Rovers]] and the Bradford Bulls.<ref name="Profile at loverugbyleague.com"/><ref name="Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org"/><ref name="England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk"/><ref name="Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk"/>

==Playing career==
===Leeds Rhinos===
He played the position of {{rlp|ce}} 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 in [[Leeds]], and was sent to a young offenders' institution for 18 months. The other offenders were Leeds teammates [[Ryan Bailey (rugby league)|Ryan Bailey]] (sentenced to nine months' detention in a young offenders' institution) and [[Dwayne Barker]] (ordered to do 150 hours of community service) and [[Rochdale Hornets]]' Paul Owen (jailed for 15 months).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/3104617.stm|title=Rugby league stars jailed|date=29 July 2003|work=BBC News}}</ref>

He is of Jamaican heritage<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rleague.com/db/article.php?id=25817 |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709075854/http://www.rleague.com/db/article.php?id=25817 |archive-date=9 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and expressed a desire to represent the West Indies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/super_league/leeds/3542315.stm|title=Walker eyes Windies call-up|date=8 March 2004|work=BBC News}}</ref>
Just after his 18th birthday Walker played for England in the [[2000 Rugby League World Cup]]{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} and made his Great Britain début in 2004, coming off the bench against Australia in the opening game of that year's [[Rugby League Tri-Nations|Tri 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 League [[Challenge Cup]] Final in 2003. He played for the [[Leeds Rhinos|Leeds]] club at centre in their [[2004 Super League Grand Final]] victory against [[Bradford Bulls|Bradford]]. As [[Super League IX]] champions, Leeds faced [[2004 NRL season]] premiers, the [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury]] side in the [[2005 World Club Challenge]]. Walker played at centre and scored a [[Try (rugby)|try]] in Leeds' 39–32 victory. 
Walker played for Leeds in the [[2005 Challenge Cup]] Final at centre in their loss against [[Hull F.C.]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Hull stun Leeds in Challenge Cup|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/4169230.stm|accessdate=17 August 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=27 August 2005}}</ref> 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 the [[2005 World Club Challenge]] when Leeds defeated the [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury Bulldogs]]. He played for the [[Leeds Rhinos]] at centre in their [[2005 Super League Grand Final]] loss against [[Bradford Bulls]].

On 6 June 2006, it was announced that Walker had signed for the English [[rugby union]] team [[Bath Rugby|Bath RFC]], and would join the club from the end of the Rugby League season in November 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/5051018.stm|title=Bath swoop for league star Walker|date=6 June 2006|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>[http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=46&ArticleID=1533249 Why I have to quit the Rhinos – Yorkshire Evening Post<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://www.bathrugby.com/5333_5348.php Bath Rugby : Chev Walker<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510105935/http://www.bathrugby.com/5333_5348.php|date=10 May 2007}}</ref>

Chev returned to Leeds Rhinos in 2020 and is assistant head coach with [[Scott Grix]] under [[Rohan Smith (rugby league)|Rohan Smith]].

On 19 Jun 2024 he jointly took over the head-coach role, with [[Scott Grix]], as an interim measure, following the immediate departure of [[Rohan Smith (rugby league)|Rohan Smith]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=19 Jun 2024|title=Leeds Rhinos part company with coach Rohan Smith|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/leeds-rhinos-part-company-with-coach-rohan-smith-4672449}}</ref> On 10 Jul 2024 he returned to his role as assistant coach once the appointment of [[Brad Arthur]], for the remainder of the 2024 season, as new head coach was confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|website=Total RL|date=10 Jul 2024|title=Leeds Rhinos appoint Brad Arthur as head coach of Super League club|url=https://www.totalrl.com/leeds-rhinos-appoint-brad-arthur-as-head-coach-of-super-league-club/}}</ref>

===Rugby union===
England's union coach, [[Brian Ashton (rugby union)|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 eight [[Guinness Premiership]] starts.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Walker was linked with a return to rugby league with various clubs before signing for [[Hull Kingston Rovers]] in September 2007.
[[File:Chev Walker.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Walker playing for Hull KR]]

===Hull Kingston Rovers===
Walker began playing for [[Hull Kingston Rovers]] at the start of the [[Super League XIII|2008 Super League season]]. On 18 September 2009, Walker suffered a horrific compound leg fracture in the Super League title playoff against Champions Leeds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/leeds-44-8-hull-kr-chev-419622|title=Chev Walker's broken leg scars Leeds win|last1=Baxter|first1=Trevor|date=19 September 2009|website=[[Daily Mirror]]|access-date=21 September 2016}}</ref> [[Bradford Bulls]] signed Walker on a one-year deal at the end of the 2010 season.

===Bradford===
Walker appeared in two of the four pre-season games. Walker played against [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]] and [[Wakefield Trinity]]. Walker featured in Round 1 ([[Leeds Rhinos|Leeds]]) to Round 3 ([[Crusaders Rugby League|Crusaders]]). He then played in six consecutive games from Round 8 ([[London Broncos|Harlequins RL]]) to Round 13 ([[Warrington Wolves|Warrington]]). He featured in Round 26 (Crusaders) and Round 27 (Wakefield Trinity). Walker also featured in the [[Challenge Cup]] game against Halifax. He picked up a pectoral injury which kept him out all season. Walker scored a try against [[Hull F.C.]] He signed a one-year extension to his contract.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Walker appeared in three of the four pre-season games. He played against [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]], [[Dewsbury Rams|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 Warriors|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 Red Devils|Salford]]). He missed Rounds 9–11 and Round 4 of the [[Challenge Cup]] due to injury. He featured in Round 15 ([[Leeds Rhinos|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 at [[Odsal Stadium|Odsal]] until the end of 2013.

Walker featured in the pre-season friendlies against [[Dewsbury Rams|Dewsbury]] and [[Leeds Rhinos|Leeds]]. He featured in six consecutive games from Round 1 ([[Wakefield Trinity|Wakefield Trinity Wildcats]]) to Round 6 ([[Widnes Vikings|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 the [[Challenge Cup]] against [[Rochdale Hornets|Rochdale]] and the [[London 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|date=October 2022}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|- bgcolor=#bdb76b
! Season !! Appearance !! Tries !! Goals !! F/G !! Points
|-
| [[2011 Bradford Bulls season|2011 Bradford]]|| 12|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 4
|-
| [[2012 Bradford Bulls season|2012 Bradford]]|| 16|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0
|-
| [[2013 Bradford Bulls season|2013 Bradford]]|| 23|| 4|| 0|| 0|| 16
|-
| [[2014 Bradford Bulls season|2014 Bradford]]|| 21|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 4
|-
| [[2015 Bradford Bulls season|2015 Bradford]]|| 12|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 8
|-
| '''Total'''|| ''84''|| ''8''|| ''0''|| ''0''|| '''32'''
|-
|}

==Personal==
In November 2019, Chev & Lauren Walker appeared on George Clarke's TV programme ''Old House, New Home''<ref>{{cite web|website=www.examinerlive.co.uk|date=11 Nov 2019|accessdate=24 Jan 2021|title=Couple's three-bedroom period property in Mirfield given £105k transformation on TV|url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/tv/couples-three-bedroom-period-property-17233908}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*(archived by web.archive.org) [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204024/http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=15830 England profile]
*(archived by web.archive.org) [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928050517/http://www.bathrugby.com/6380_5348.php Bath profile]
*(archived by web.archive.org) [https://web.archive.org/web/20071111113247/http://www.guinnesspremiership.com/112_146.php?player=19913&includeref=dynamic Guinness Premiership profile]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000919/ai_n14341543 Teenager Walker steps up in world]
* [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbyleague/story/0,,2153584,00.html Wigan look to bring back Walker]
*(archived by web.archive.org) [https://web.archive.org/web/20081118040723/http://leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk/leedsrhinos/pastplayers/squad-page.asp?ID=181 Profile at leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk]

{{Leeds Rhinos - 2004 Super League champions}}
{{Leeds Rhinos - 2005 World Club Challenge Winners}}
{{England 2000 Rugby League World Cup Squad}}
{{Great Britain 2004 Rugby League Tri Nations squad}}
{{Great Britain 2005 Rugby League Tri Nations squad}}
{{Bradford Bulls Captains}}
{{Leeds Rhinos coaches}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Chev}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Bath Rugby players]]
[[Category:Black British sportsmen]]
[[Category:Bradford Bulls captains]]
[[Category:Bradford Bulls players]]
[[Category:England national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:English people of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:English rugby league players]]
[[Category:English rugby union players]]
[[Category:Great Britain national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Hull Kingston Rovers players]]
[[Category:Leeds Rhinos coaches]]
[[Category:Leeds Rhinos players]]
[[Category:Rugby league centres]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from Leeds]]
[[Category:Rugby league second-rows]]
[[Category:Rugby league wingers]]
[[Category:Rugby union centres]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Leeds]]
[[Category:Yorkshire rugby league team players]]
[[Category:21st-century British sportsmen]]