View source for John Kear

{{Short description|English rugby league coach (born 1954)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name                = John Kear
|fullname            =
|image               = John Kear Batley.jpg
|image_size          = 
|birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1954|11|25}}
|birth_place         = [[Castleford]], West Riding of Yorkshire, England
|height              =
|weight              =
|position            = {{Rlp|WG|CE|FB}}
|club1               = [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]] 
|year1start          = 1978
|year1end            = 88
|appearances1        = 133
|tries1              = 37
|goals1              = 0
|fieldgoals1         = 0
|points1             = 132
|coachteam1          = [[Bramley RLFC]]
|coachyear1start     = 1992
|coachyear1end       = 
|coachgames1         = 
|coachwins1          = 
|coachdraws1         = 
|coachlosses1        = 
|coachteam2          = [[Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League|PSG]]
|coachyear2start     = 1995
|coachyear2end       = 96
|coachgames2         = 44
|coachwins2          = 9
|coachdraws2         = 1
|coachlosses2        = 34
|coachteam3         = [[Sheffield Eagles]]
|coachyear3start    = 1997
|coachyear3end      = 99
|coachgames3        = 65
|coachwins3         = 24
|coachdraws3        = 3
|coachlosses3       = 38
|coachteam4         = [[Huddersfield Giants|Huddersfield-Sheffield]]
|coachyear4start    = 2000
|coachyear4end      = 
|coachgames4        = 28
|coachwins4         = 4
|coachdraws4        = 0
|coachlosses4       = 24
|coachteam5         = [[Hull F.C.|Hull]]
|coachyear5start    = 2005
|coachyear5end      = 06
|coachgames5        = 43
|coachwins5         = 24
|coachdraws5        = 2
|coachlosses5       = 17
|coachteam6         = {{nowrap|[[Wakefield Trinity|Wakefield Trinity Wildcats]]}}
|coachyear6start    = 2006
|coachyear6end      = 11
|coachgames6        = 153
|coachwins6         = 64
|coachdraws6        = 1
|coachlosses6       = 88
|coachteam7         = [[Batley Bulldogs]]
|coachyear7start    = 2011
|coachyear7end      = 16
|coachgames7        = 
|coachwins7         = 
|coachdraws7        = 
|coachlosses7       = 
|coachteam8         = [[Bradford Bulls]]
|coachyear8start    = 2018
|coachyear8end      = 22
|coachgames8        = 102
|coachwins8         = 66
|coachdraws8        = 1
|coachlosses8       = 35
|coachteam9         = [[Widnes Vikings]]
|coachyear9start    = 2022
|coachyear9end      = 23
|coachgames9        = 28
|coachwins9         = 13
|coachdraws9        = 0
|coachlosses9       = 15
| coachteam10       = {{nowrap|[[Batley Bulldogs]]}}
| coachyear10start  = 2025
| coachyear10end    = present
| coachgames10      = 1
| coachwins10       = 1
| coachdraws10      = 0
| coachlosses10     = 0
|coachteamA         = [[France national rugby league team|France]]
|coachyearAstart    = 1997
|coachyearAend      =
|coachgamesA        = 1
|coachwinsA         = 1
|coachdrawsA        = 0
|coachlossesA       = 0
|coachteamB         = [[England national rugby league team|England]]
|coachyearBstart    = 2000
|coachyearBend      =
|coachgamesB        = 6
|coachwinsB         = 4
|coachdrawsB        = 0
|coachlossesB       = 2
|coachteamC         = [[Wales national rugby league team|Wales]]
|coachyearCstart    = 2014
|coachyearCend      = present
|coachgamesC        = 15
|coachwinsC         = 7
|coachdrawsC        = 1
|coachlossesC       = 7
|new                = yes
|retired            = no
|source             = <ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/john-kear/summary.html Rugby League Project]</ref><ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/coaches/John_Kear/summary.html Rugby League Project Coaching]</ref>
| updated           = 29 June 2025
}}

'''John Kear''' (born 25 November 1954) is an English professional [[rugby league]] coach, for [[Batley Bulldogs]] in the [[RFL Championship]] and the [[Wales national rugby league team]]. He also works as a pundit for [[BBC Sport]] and is a former professional [[rugby league]] footballer.

He is perhaps best known as a coach for his [[Challenge Cup]] successes with [[Sheffield Eagles]] in 1998 and [[Hull F.C.|Hull]] in 2005, as well as his time coaching [[Wakefield Trinity]] in the late 2000s. As a player, he played on the {{rlp|wg}} or in the {{rlp|ce}} position for [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]].

==Background==
Kear was born in [[Castleford]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England.

==Playing career==
===County Cup Final appearances===
John Kear played on the {{rlp|wg}} in [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]]'s 13–2 defeat by [[Hull F.C.|Hull]] in the [[1983 Yorkshire Cup]] Final during the [[1983–84 Rugby Football League season|1983–84 season]] at [[Elland Road]], [[Leeds]] on Saturday 15 October 1983.

==Coaching career==
===Early career===
After stints working as a conditioner for [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]], as head coach of [[Bramley RLFC|Bramley]] (1992), working in the player performance department of the Rugby Football League, head coach of [[Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League|Paris Saint-Germain]], and assistant coach to both England and Great Britain, he took over the coaching [[Rein#In popular expression|reins]] at [[Sheffield Eagles]] in 1997, taking them to the Premiership semi-final in that year. A year later he was the coach who led Sheffield Eagles to a Challenge Cup final victory over the [[Wigan Warriors]]; this triumph has been described as one of the greatest shocks in Challenge Cup history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rugby-league.com/challengecup/history |title=History |website=rugby-league.com |publisher=Rugby Football League |access-date=16 November 2017}}</ref>

Sheffield Eagles merged with the [[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 the Wigan Warriors.

He was coach of the England team in the [[2000 Rugby League World Cup|2000 World Cup]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-847721-fiji-send-warning-to-kears-troops.do |title=Fiji send warning to Kear's troops (03.11.2000) |work=Evening Standard|location=London |access-date=23 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073115/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-847721-fiji-send-warning-to-kears-troops.do |archive-date= 6 June 2011 }}</ref> leading them to the semi-finals.

===Later career===
He left Wigan for the first team coach role at [[Hull F.C.|Hull]], working with [[Shaun McRae]]. He stepped up to first team coach at Hull in 2005 when predecessor [[Shaun McRae]] left to take charge of [[South Sydney Rabbitohs]].<ref name="Coaches and Captains">{{cite web|url=http://www.hullfc.com/club/history-stats/past-coaches-captains|title=Coaches and Captains|publisher=hullfc.com|date=31 December 2016|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref> He led the club to victory over [[Leeds Rhinos|Leeds]], by a 25–24 scoreline in the [[2005 Challenge Cup]] in his first season. However, in April 2006 he was sacked by [[Hull F.C.|Hull]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull/4871892.stm|title=Rugby League – Super League – Hull – Kear makes swift Hull departure|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> 
[[File:John Kear.jpg|thumb|left|Kear in 2007|300px]]
He took charge of [[Wakefield Trinity]] in July 2006 where he steered the team clear of relegation with four wins from the last six matches of the season, culminating in the great escape and condemning [[Castleford Tigers|Castleford]] to relegation to [[RFL Championship|National League One]].

In 2007, he fielded a predominantly untried squad and led Trinity to 8th position in the Super League, their second-highest Super League finish.

In 2009, Kear led [[Wakefield Trinity]] to 5th position, their highest ever Super League finish. The team were knocked out of the first round of the play-offs by [[Catalans Dragons]].

In 2011 Kear left Wakefield Trinity to become head coach of [[Batley Bulldogs|Batley]].

===Bradford Bulls===

Following the 2017 World Cup, Kear signed a 3-year deal to coach [[RFL League 1]] side [[Bradford Bulls]] following their relegation from the [[RFL Championship]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/15714857.Bradford_Bulls_set_to_announce_John_Kear_as_new_coach/|title=Bradford Bulls set to announce John Kear as new coach|work=Telegraph & Argus |date=11 December 2017 |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref> During his first season he missed out on automatic promotion as [[York City Knights]] finished top of the table, however he guided the Bulls to a 27–8 victory against [[Workington Town]] in the 2018 League 1 playoff final, ensuring promotion to the Championship for the 2019 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/16966705.joy-relief-bradford-bulls-back-promotion/|title=Joy and relief as Bradford Bulls back on the up with promotion|work=Telegraph & Argus |date=7 October 2018 |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref>

During the 2019 pre-season Kear coached the side to win the revived [[2019 Yorkshire Cup|Yorkshire Cup]] beating [[Halifax R.L.F.C.]] (26-16) and [[Dewsbury Rams]] (20-18) to progress to the final where the Bulls beat [[Batley Bulldogs]] (14-12) in front of a crowd of 2,278.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/17338722.dewsbury-next-for-bulls-after-yorkshire-cup-win-over-halifax/|title=Dewsbury next for Bulls after Yorkshire Cup win over Halifax|work=Telegraph & Argus |date=6 January 2019 |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/17372013.bulls-claim-yorkshire-cup-win-over-batley-bulldogs/|title=Bulls claim Yorkshire Cup win over Batley Bulldogs|work=Telegraph & Argus |date=20 January 2019 |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> John Kear's reputation as a 'giant killer' in the [[Challenge Cup]] was once again shown as the Bulls defeated arch rivals and [[Super League]] side [[Leeds Rhinos]] 24–22 in front of a 10,258 home crowd, however the Bulls were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Halifax.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/11/bradford-leeds-challenge-cup-match-report|title=Bradford stun rivals Leeds to reach Challenge Cup quarter-finals|work=The Guardian|location=London |date=11 May 2019 |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> Despite the Challenge Cup run, in the league Kear could only manage to get the Bulls to 6th place in the table, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

At the start of the 2020 season, Kear nearly pulled off another Challenge Cup upset against Super League opposition [[Wakefield Trinity]], however the Bulls just narrowly lost the match 14–17. The 2020 season was suspended indefinitely after four league games due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/51911290|title=Coronavirus: Rugby Football League suspends season until 3 April |publisher=BBC Sport |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> Following this, Kear signed a 2-year extension to his contract, keeping him at the Bulls until the end of the 2022 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/bradford-bulls-secure-john-kear-new-deal-2872995|title=Bradford Bulls secure John Kear on new deal |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=3 June 2020 |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> Kear left Bradford in April 2022 by mutual consent.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Kear: Bradford Bulls part company with veteran coach by 'mutual consent' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/61229324 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=27 November 2023 |date=26 April 2022}}</ref>

===Batley Bulldogs===
On 26 June 2025 it was reported that he had taken the role of head-coach for [[Batley Bulldogs]] in the [[RFL Championship]]<ref>{{cite web|website=Love Rugby League|date=26 Jun 2025|author=Aaron Bower|title=John Kear makes sensational coaching return after agreeing Championship move|url=https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/john-kear-makes-sensational-coaching-return-after-agreeing-championship-move}}</ref>

===Wales===

On 16 July 2014 Kear succeeded Iestyn Harris as head coach of [[Wales national rugby league team|Wales]], a role he undertook alongside his position at Batley and subsequently at Bradford Bulls.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12040/9383478/wales-appoint-john-kear-as-coach-with-the-veteran-succeeding-iestyn-harris |title=John Kear appointed as successor to Iestyn Harris as Wales head coach |publisher=Sky Sports |date=16 July 2014 |access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref> His first game was against Scotland in the [[2014 European Cup (rugby league)|2014 European Cup]]. Wales lost the opening game by a score of 42–18.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/12499/brough-leads-scotland-to-victory|title=Brough leads Scotland to victory over Wales|work=WalesRugbyLeague.co.uk|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> After the 2014 European Cup event, his Welsh team took on Scotland again in the opening match of the [[2015 European Cup|2015 Tournament]]. John's team earned their first ever victory after a spree of 12 consecutive defeats which began back in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/13845/wales-18-scotland-12|title=WALES 18 SCOTLAND 12|publisher=WALES RUGBY LEAGUE|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref> Wales went on to be unbeaten in the tournament resulting in them winning their first [[Rugby League European Cup|European Cup]] tournament since [[2010 European Cup|2010]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/wales/34746937|title=European Championship: Wales beat Ireland to win title|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=7 November 2015}}</ref> The following year, he was required to make Wales qualify for the [[2017 Rugby League World Cup]] via the [[2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe|European qualifiers]]. In the opening game at Llanelli, Wales thrashed Serbia by 50 points.

He coached the [[Wales 9s]] squad at the [[2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s]].<ref>{{cite web|date=9 October 2019|title=16-man squad for 9s World Cup revealed|url=https://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/16722/-man-squad-for-s-world-cup-revealed|publisher=Wales RL|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010051335/https://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/16722/-man-squad-for-s-world-cup-revealed|archive-date=10 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Kear coached Wales at the [[2021 Rugby League World Cup]] where they lost all three group stage matches.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63464967/|title=Rugby League World Cup: Papua New Guinea 36-0 Wales – Kumuls seal quarter-final against England|publisher=BBC Sport}}</ref>

==Managerial statistics==

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=5|Record
|-
!{{abbr|P|Matches played}}!!{{abbr|W|Matches won}}!!{{abbr|D|Matches drawn}}!!{{abbr|L|Matches lost}}!!{{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}}
|-
|align=left|[[Bradford Bulls]]
|align=left|11 December 2017
|align=left|25 April 2022
{{WDL|102|66|1|35|decimals=2}}
|-
|align=left|[[Widnes Vikings]]
|align=left|1 July 2022
|align=left|present
{{WDL|0|0|0|0|decimals=2}}
|-
!colspan=3|Total
{{WDLtot|102|66|1|35|decimals=2}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/player_info?524870-John%20-Kear Bradford Bulls profile]
*[https://rugbyleague.wales/management?id=142652&authtoken=QkU3RUVDRjAtMzYzNi00Q0M3LTk0Q0EtMEE4MUI2QkJGMjM4&teamid=MTA1MzU3 Wales profile]

{{Batley Bulldogs squad}}
{{Sheffield Eagles - 1998 Challenge Cup Final winners}}
{{Hull F.C. - 2005 Challenge Cup Final winners}}
{{England 2000 Rugby League World Cup squad}}
{{Wales 2017 Rugby League World Cup squad}}
{{Wales 2021 Rugby League World Cup squad}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Coaching positions
|list1=  
{{England national rugby league team coaches}}
{{France national rugby league team coaches}}
{{Batley Bulldogs coaches}}
{{Bradford Bulls Coaches}}
{{Bramley RLFC coaches}}
{{Huddersfield Giants coaches}}
{{Hull FC coaches}}
{{Sheffield Eagles coaches}}
{{Wakefield Trinity coaches}}
{{Wales national rugby league team coaches}}
{{Widnes Vikings coaches}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kear, John}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]
[[Category:Batley Bulldogs coaches]]
[[Category:Bradford Bulls coaches]]
[[Category:Castleford Tigers players]]
[[Category:England national rugby league team coaches]]
[[Category:English rugby league coaches]]
[[Category:English rugby league players]]
[[Category:France national rugby league team coaches]]
[[Category:Huddersfield Giants coaches]]
[[Category:Hull F.C. coaches]]
[[Category:Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League coaches]]
[[Category:Rugby league centres]]
[[Category:Rugby league fullbacks]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from Castleford]]
[[Category:Rugby league wingers]]
[[Category:Sheffield Eagles (1984) coaches]]
[[Category:Wakefield Trinity coaches]]
[[Category:Wales national rugby league team coaches]]
[[Category:Widnes Vikings coaches]]