John Kear obituary: The legendary rugby league coach who made players believe they could achieve the impossible
John Kear, who has died at 71, was a Yorkshire rugby league coach who made players believe they could achieve the impossible.
He masterminded one of the sport’s greatest shocks when his Sheffield Eagles side won the Challenge Cup in 1998, and oversaw more than 700 games in a distinguished coaching career of close to 40 years.
His other successes included guiding Hull to Challenge Cup glory in 2005.
There were also spells in charge of Wakefield, Bradford, Widnes, Paris St Germain and Batley, among others, as well as international roles with England, Wales and France. Alongside coaching, from which he retired last year, he was a respected broadcaster and pundit.
Kear moved into coaching after a playing career as a winger with his hometown club Castleford, for whom he made 133 first-team appearances.
He was born into rugby league, growing up in the shadow of Castleford’s ground on Wheldon Road. He turned down multiple offers from other West Yorkshire clubs to play there and remained on the pitch for 10 years.
But it was his coaching career that made him a legend. From Sheffield Eagles’ astonishing Challenge Cup triumph in 1998 to his habit of galvanising unfancied teams at Wakefield Trinity, Batley Bulldogs and elsewhere, Kear coaxed performances from players and clubs that appeared beyond their natural limits.
To demonstrate that the Eagles’ Wembley giant killing of Wigan Warriors had been no fluke, he repeated the feat with Hull FC in 2005.
Few had given the Black and Whites a chance against a formidable Leeds Rhinos side but Kear again inspired his players to a famous victory.
His coaching career had seen stints as a conditioner for Castleford, head coach of Bramley and assistant coach to both England and Great Britain before he took the reins at Sheffield Eagles in 1997 and sent them straight to the Premiership semi-final.
A year later he was the coach who led them to that Challenge Cup final victory over Wigan Warriors.
The Eagles merged with Huddersfield Giants after 1999’s Super League IV, and Kear retained his job as coach of the merged side before moving on to become the assistant coach to Stuart Raper at Wigan Warriors.
He was coach of the England team in the 2000 World Cup, leading them to the semi-finals.
Although he remained a Castleford lad at heart, Kear was also a Wakefield legend and he counted among his greatest achievements saving Trinity from relegation in 2006, using peerless motivational skills in the closing stages of the season to secure the club’s Super League future.
Kear was the recipient of an outstanding contribution award at last season’s
Rugby League Awards dinner following his retirement, and a Rugby League Writers’ and Broadcasters’ Association merit award for services to the sport and its presentation in the media. His death came a day after he commentated on last weekend’s Challenge Cup final.
He is survived by his wife Dawn and their family.