IN appointing John Kear as head coach, Bradford Bulls have opted for one of the most experienced mentors around.

The 63-year-old may have coached France, England and Wales and been a TV summariser and pundit, but it is the Challenge Cup that has brought the Castleford man most of his fame.

In 1998, he was coach of the unheralded Sheffield Eagles, who caused one of the greatest upsets – not only in the competition's history but in the sport as a whole – when they beat mighty Wigan 17-8 at Wembley Stadium.

It wasn't Kear's only success in the competition, however, as he was also at the helm seven years later when Hull FC beat Leeds Rhinos 25-24 at the Millennium Stadium with a late Paul Cooke try and Danny Brough goal in what some say was the greatest Challenge Cup final ever.

Kear's playing career was with his home-town club as a full back, centre or winger, and he scored 37 tries in 133 appearances, including playing in the 1983 Yorkshire Cup final, which Castleford lost 13-2 to Hull FC at Elland Road.

But it as a coach or assistant coach where Kear has forged his reputation, starting as a conditioner for Castleford before moving, in 1992, to Bramley.

Then came a spell with Paris St Germain at the birth of Super League as the sport was on one of its expansion drives before Kear moved to the Eagles, taking them to the Premiership semi-finals in his first season (1997).

He remained as coach in 1999 when Sheffield merged with Huddersfield before he was assistant coach to Stuart Raper at Wigan and coached with Shaun McRae at Hull.

Kear, whose contacts within the sport will be invaluable for the Bulls, got the top job at the KC Stadium when McRae left for Sydney Rabbitohs in 2005 but was sacked by them in April 2006, taking over at Wakefield Trinity three months later.

His spell at Belle Vue was largely successful as he initially kept them up by winning four of their last six matches, ironically sending Castleford down, and the Wildcats finished eighth in 2007 with a relatively untried squad and fifth in 2009.

Then came a drop down the ladder with Batley in 2011 before Kear, who has been assistant coach with England and Great Britain and coached England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2000, took over as Welsh coach with former Bull Iestyn Harris in July 2014.

He remained at the Batley helm and was crowned Championship Coach of the Year in 2016 after guiding the part-time Bulldogs on a shoestring budget to a first-ever Qualifiers spot in third place.

He then left to rejoin Wakefield and become head of rugby alongside coach Chris Chester, with the pair leading them to a fifth-place finish last season - their highest in Super League since 2009 when Kear was also in charge.