Funeral held for rugby league legend John Kear

The funeral of former England and Wales rugby league coach and renowned broadcaster John Kear has taken place.

Friends, relatives and former players gathered in Penistone, South Yorkshire, earlier for the service at St John's Church.

Castleford-born Kear, who died on 1 June, earned widespread recognition during his career, including masterminding Sheffield Eagles' shock 1998 Challenge Cup final victory over Wigan.

Former Eagles player Mark Aston, who was part of the title-winning side, said: "John were the one that had faith in me, he made me the guy who was going to lead the guys out, it was an outstanding day for us."

He added: "I think it was a real moment of triumph for John, because of the way he mapped it all out and the detail he put into us getting there and being able to secure the win.

"There was no stone left unturned."

Paul Broadbent, former captain of the club, described Kear as a father figure to the players.

"We talk about what he did on the field, but there were things off the field that he did, and how close everybody was to him," he said.

The Eagles said in a statement earlier this month that Kear would "always be remembered as the coach who delivered out finest hour".

During his playing career, Kear made 133 appearances for hometown club Castleford between 1978 and 1988 before he subsequently moved into coaching.

He was one of the sport's most respected figures, with a coaching career lasting more than 700 matches with clubs including Bradford Bulls, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity.

He led Hull FC to their own surprise Challenge Cup win in 2005, beating Leeds Rhinos in the final at Cardiff.

Kear went on to take England to the semi-finals in the 2000 World Cup, and had 11 years in charge of Wales, leading them at the 2017 and 2021 World Cups.

In a statement earlier this month, the Rugby Football League said he "was loved and admired throughout the sport and well beyond".

Kear had been part of the BBC Sport commentary team for the match between Wigan and Hull KR at Wembley Stadium the day before his death.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North