Christopher Morley (born 22 September 1973) is a former
Wales international rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.
He played as a or at club level for
St Helens (
Heritage No. 1048),
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Sheffield Eagles
The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...
,
Leigh
Leigh may refer to:
Places In England
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan
** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
* Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Dorset
* Leigh, Gloucestershire
* Leigh, Kent
* Leigh, Staf ...
,
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
(
Heritage No. 1136),
Halifax and
Swinton.
[Graham Williams, Peter Lush, David Farrar (November 2009). "The British Rugby League Records Book age-108…114. London League Publications Ltd. ]
Background
Morley was born in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England.
Playing career
International honours
Chris Morley won
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
s for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
while at St. Helens in 1996 against France (
interchange/
substitute), and England, while at Salford in 1999 against Ireland and Scotland, while at Sheffield Eagles in 2000 against South Africa (
interchange/
substitute), while at Leigh in the
2000 Rugby League World Cup against Lebanon (
interchange/
substitute), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea (
interchange/
substitute) and Australia, while at Oldham in 2001 against England, while at Halifax in 2003 against Russia, and Australia, while at Swinton in 2006 against Scotland, 1996...2006 13(14?)-caps + 4-caps (
interchange/
substitute) 1(2?)-try 4(8?)-points.
It was later revealed, in his brother,
Adrian Morley
Adrian Paul Morley is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward from the 1990s through the 2010s. A Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain and England national rugby league team, Engl ...
's autobiography ''"Moz"'' that Chris Morley did not actually qualify to represent Wales, he had lied to the then Wales Assistant Coach;
Mike Gregory
Michael Keith Gregory (20 May 1964 – 19 November 2007) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Warrington from 1982 to 1994, and won 20 caps fo ...
, and that Morley's grandmother was born in a village just outside
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
when in fact she was born in
St. Helens,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, and therefore he had no Welsh qualification.
Challenge Cup Final appearances
Chris Morley was an
interchange/
substitute in
St. Helens' 32–22 victory over
Bradford Bulls
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...
in the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
Final during
Super League II
Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer.
Teams
Twelve teams were ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on Saturday 3 May 1997.
Genealogical information
Chris Morley is the older brother of the rugby league footballer;
Adrian Morley
Adrian Paul Morley is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward from the 1990s through the 2010s. A Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain and England national rugby league team, Engl ...
.
References
External links
Profile at saints.org.ukThe Teams: WalesStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Chris
1973 births
Living people
English people of Welsh descent
English rugby league players
Halifax R.L.F.C. players
Leigh Centurions players
Oldham R.L.F.C. players
Rugby league players from Salford
Rugby league locks
Rugby league props
Rugby league second-rows
Salford Red Devils players
Sheffield Eagles players
St Helens R.F.C. players
Swinton Lions players
Wales national rugby league team players
Warrington Wolves players