Rugby league legend and veteran broadcaster John Kear has died aged 71.

The former England, France and Wales coach died suddenly on Sunday after returning from calling the Wigan Warriors’ victory at Wembley in the Challenge Cup, a tournament he won twice.

The champion former coach took charge of nine clubs across a career that spanned more than 700 games, including the Sheffield Eagles’ shock 1998 Challenge Cup victory, before doing it again with Hull FC in 2005.

Kear played 133 games as an outside back for Castleford between 1978 and 1988 before starting a coaching career that only ended last year.

In a statement, the Rugby Football League said: “The RFL today pays tribute to John Kear, who died suddenly on Sunday afternoon returning north from Wembley, having been part of the BBC’s commentary team for the Betfred Challenge Cup finals the previous day.”

In a tribute of his own, RFL chair Nigel Wood said Kear made a significant contribution to the game.

“On behalf of the whole sport, our thoughts and condolences are with John’s wife Dawn, his family and with those who played or worked alongside him over the last 50 years,” Wood said.

“Having had a 10-year career at Castleford, he found his passion for coaching which saw him oversee more than 700 games across a career which included coaching England in the 2000 World Cup, Wales in the 2017 and 2021 World Cup, oversaw Challenge Cup victories at Sheffield Eagles and Hull FC, and most recently took Batley Bulldogs to the Championship Grand Final.

“But John was also an excellent broadcast summariser with a great turn of phrase and an undiluted love and positivity for the sport.

“It was always a pleasure to see John, at Wakefield Trinity games most recently, as he was full of energy and enthusiasm for the game he clearly loved and had given him so much, in the same way he had given back.”

Devastated BBC colleagues lead tributes to rugby league legend John Kear after his death a day after commentating on Challenge Cup final

John Kear’s BBC colleagues have led an outpouring of tributes to the rugby league great following his sudden death, just a day after he was on commentary duty for the Challenge Cup final.

The Rugby Football League announced that the 71-year-old died ‘suddenly’ on Sunday on his return from covering Wigan Warriors’ Challenge Cup victory at Wembley for the BBC.

Kear led nine clubs across a coaching career lasting more than 700 matches, masterminding a shock win for Sheffield Eagles in 1998 and then steering Hull FC to glory in 2005.

The Yorkshireman, who played for a decade as an outside back at Castleford before his long spell in the dugout, retired in 2025 after a second stint at Batley. He also tried his hand at international level, coaching England, Wales and France over the course of his career.

The tributes have been pouring in all day from Kear’s colleagues, friends, and former players.

‘Of course I love calling games with him because he’s so enthusiastic,’ said BBC rugby league commentator Matt Newsum.

‘But away from the mic I love hearing his life stories, getting him carried away on his favourite Led Zeppelin songs, and introducing him to the delights of halloumi after his initial scepticism. I can’t publish what he said at first.

‘The biggest compliment I can give is that when my dad died last year, John became the next best thing to me – he was much, much more than a colleague.’

Former Sheffield hooker Johnny Lawless, a key figure in the Wembley win over Wigan, told PA: ‘I’m totally devastated. The biggest memory I have of John is obviously the win at Wembley in 1998, but he had a massive impact on, not just my career, but my life as well.

‘How he managed people was like no other. I was just one of probably thousands of people who he touched within the game. He’s going to be greatly missed.

‘Without John we would not have won the cup. He never took credit for it, like the gentleman he was, but he truly masterminded it.

‘He put his arm around people and made you believe you could do stuff you probably doubted yourself. He had great attributes to get the best out of everyone.

‘He was one of those coaches you’d do anything for, you’d run through a brick wall for him because he just knew how to treat you as a person first and foremost. He had that magic effect.

‘He could make you play a little bit better, an extra 10 per cent here or one per cent there – John would get it out of you.’

Former Hull player Paul Cooke, who was in the side that beat Leeds in the 2005 final in Cardiff, wrote on X: ‘Rest in eternal peace boss. You gave me the greatest rugby league day of my life, for that I’m indebted to you forever!’

Former BBC sports commentator Dave Woods said: ‘For more than 30 years he was a cherished member of the BBC radio and TV commentary team. His knowledge was unsurpassed, his humour never diminished.

‘We gave him the tag of “Tight Yorkshireman” – always the last to get to the bar to buy a drink, we’d joke, and he’d play up to that role.

‘But, that was a myth. He was the most generous fella you could meet.

‘And, he was certainly always the last to leave the bar once the drinks were in because he loved the stories, the memories and the opinions we’d all share about our great game.

‘He had one passion greater than rugby league and that was his family.

‘Anyone who met JK knew how much his wife Dawn and all their kids meant to him. As much as we are hurting that he’s gone, their pain will be infinitely greater and they are so much in our thoughts.

‘Good night Keary, from Paris and Sheffield, and all those other places you left your lasting legacy.

‘You were the best of us.’