{"id":11591,"date":"2026-06-01T11:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:49:07","slug":"tribute-john-kear-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591","title":{"rendered":"Tribute: John Kear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone at Bramley Buffaloes is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected passing of our former coach, John Kear, at the age of 71.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A much-loved and well-respected figure within the sport, John began his coaching career with Bramley in 1992.<\/p>\n

He went on to surpass more than 700 games as a head coach, guiding numerous clubs at the very pinnacle of the British game.<\/p>\n

Also gaining national acclaim during his time spent as France head coach for a game in 1997, England for the 2000 World Cup as he led them to the semi-finals, and an 11-year stint in charge of Wales which also included two World Cups, John has cemented his legacy as one of the most popular figures within our sport.<\/p>\n

In addition to his coaching, John was also an esteemed broadcaster who helped support the coverage of some of the sports biggest events, including last weekend’s Betfred Challenge Cup finals.<\/p>\n

As the rugby league community begins to come to terms with his loss, we pause to remember not only a wonderful coach, but a down-to-earth individual whose warmth and positivity was felt by all those around him.<\/p>\n

At this difficult time, our immediate thoughts are with John’s wife Dawn, and his friends and family.<\/p>\n

John will forever be part of the Bramley family. Rest in peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone at Bramley Buffaloes is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected passing of our former coach, John Kear, at the age of 71.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTribute: John Kear - Bramley Buffaloes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tribute: John Kear - Bramley Buffaloes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone at Bramley Buffaloes is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected passing of our former coach, John Kear, at the age of 71.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bramley Buffaloes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T11:49:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JK_2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kerry McGann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kerry McGann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kerry McGann\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5a465ace6c1e5ef38a8eb885c0cd7551\"},\"headline\":\"Tribute: John Kear\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T11:49:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\"},\"wordCount\":222,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JK_2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/?p=11591\",\"name\":\"Tribute: John Kear - 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