Rugby league has lost one of its greatest ambassadors

Kind. Competitive. Committed. Humble. Friendly. Challenge Cup hero. There are many words you could use to describe John Kear, the 71-year-old rugby league legend from Castleford who suddenly passed away from a heart attack on Sunday, and few would do him justice.

Kear was an iconic individual, someone who filled almost every role in rugby league in his seven decades and was known nationwide through his TV commentary work with Sky Sports and BBC. Born and raised in the West Riding, just outside of Wakefield, he was a boyhood fan of Castleford who went on to play more than 100 games for his beloved Tigers in the 1970s and 1980s as a hard-working outside back.

But it was after his playing career, and his move into coaching, which first started at Wheldon Road as an assistant to Malcolm Reilly, that Kear became an icon. Beginning as head coach with Bramley in 1992, he would coach nine clubs and three national teams over an astounding 32 years. It was through his stints with Sheffield Eagles, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity, and arguably in the Challenge Cup, that the cheerful Castlefordian became best known.

At Sheffield in 1998 Kear masterminded the Eagles’ famous Cup win over Wigan, which is still regarded as the greatest-ever Challenge Cup final upset in the competition’s long history. He went on to coach England at the 2000 World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals. Five later, he was in charge of another team and was behind another major Challenge Cup final upset, as Hull FC defeated Leeds Rhinos at Wembley. One of his players that day was Chris Chester, currently Castleford’s director of rugby, who paid homage to his former coach.

“It’s devastating. I got a text message at 6am Monday morning that he had passed,” Chester told The i Paper. “I’m just devastated for Dawn [his wife] and the family and the rugby community. He was such a great fella, he always had a smile on his face. He was a real mentor and a role model for me, especially coming through coaching.

“At Hull he single-handedly won us that Cup in 2005. We had a good players and good leaders, but with John’s connection and how he got us all connected, we all just felt part of his family.

“John played a massive part in that. He was very good at bringing a group together and motivating a group of players. You’d run through a brick wall for John. You always wanted to do well for John.”

After Kear left Hull FC in 2006 he joined Wakefield as head coach, spending six years at Trinity where he saved them from relegation and had one of the poorest clubs in Super League punching well above its weight. He then went to coach for five years at Batley in the Championship, again delivering almost the impossible when he had the Bulldogs pushing for promotion to Super League.

“John wanted to become involved in the game for so long,” Chester says. “I’ll never forget in 2006 when he kept Wakefield in Super League, when everyone tipped them to go down and looked in real trouble. He galvanized Wakefield.

“John didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He was very diplomatic and calming. He had a calming influence on me as a coach, and always looked at the positives. It [his death] just didn’t feel real at the minute. It just doesn’t seem right. It’s always the good guys.”

Kear was reunited at Belle Vue with Chester when he was hired as Wakefield’s head of rugby in 2017, with Chester serving as head coach. Kear later went on to coach Bradford from 2018 to 2022, helping them stabilise after their major financial issues, and securing promotion back to the Championship in 2019.

He then went on to spells in charge of Widnes Vikings and then a brief return at Batley, as well as leading Wales at the 2017 and 2022 World Cups, before finally retiring from coaching last year. All the while Kear was a regular and popular figure commenting on television and radio.

On Saturday he was part of the BBC Sport team that covered the Challenge Cup final, where Wigan defeated Hull KR. Twenty-four hours later he tragically and unexpectedly passed away while returning home, sending a sport into mourning.

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For those in the media, especially myself, the affable Yorkshireman with the recognisable accent was always a friendly and polite presence in press boxes. Honest, down-to-earth, enthusiastic, you always knew where you stood with Kear, who was universally liked and respected across rugby league.

For a minority sport based in the north, John Kear was one of its greatest ambassadors. His legacy and positive impact on so many teams and on so many people, for so long, is almost unmatched.

“He was just a real infectious guy, he just loved the game, he loved rugby league,” Chester says.

“I’ll never forget what John did for me as a player and coach. When I got the sack from Hull KR he was always on the phone being supportive, and congratulated me after getting to Wembley [in 2015]. He was just a really good guy and a great sounding board. He will be sadly missed.”