LEAGUE STAR KEAR’S RISE TO THE TOP
IT’S a long way from Caedelyn Park to Wembley Stadium, but that’s a journey Elliot Kear will complete this weekend.
The Wales Rugby League captain is set to line up for Salford Red Devils against Leeds Rhinos in the Coral Challenge Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
With his 32nd birthday coming up next month, it’s an occasion the man from Cardiff didn’t think he was going to experience during his career.
But he will now be heading down Wembley Way for what is sure to be a day to remember, as giant-killers Salford appear in the final for the first time in 51 years.
It will be a richly-deserved moment in the sporting spotlight for a player who has often tended to be overshadowed by his former school-mates.
Kear was in the same year as football superstar Gareth Bale and Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton at Whitchurch High, while Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas was a year or so above him.
But his own career is one to be rightly proud of, with more than a decade as a professional, plus 26 caps for Wales, for the past couple of years as skipper.
His sporting story began in Cardiff, where he was born and bred, growing up in Whitchurch, living first on The Philog and then Whitworth Square.
Taking up rugby was always on the cards, with his father Gareth – now the chief executive of Wales Rugby League – captaining Rhiwbina RFC, playing in the centre.
“I didn’t have a choice,” quips Elliot. “We were a rugby family first and foremost.
“At the age of about four or five, my dad took me down to Rhiwbina.
“He was my first coach, along with Peter Souto, who played for St Helens. They coached us for a good few years.
“We used to play at Caedelyn Park and Rhiwbina Primary School fields.
“My dad was the most supportive parent you could ever have and I owe a lot to him in my sporting career.
“He would take me and my younger brother Scott to the grounds of Whitchurch Hospital where we’d practice our goal-kicking when we were kids.
“We spent a lot of time there, messing about, playing rugby. They are good memories.”
When Kear was around 10 or 11, he switched to Llandaff North RFC, while also moving up to Whitchurch High School, which saw him alongside Bale and Warburton.
“It was a pretty good year as far as sport went,” he says.
“You wouldn’t have thought back then that you were knocking the ball around with a future Lions captain
and a four-times Champions League winner.
“But you knew they were destined for big things and they have gone to have great careers.
“Gareth had a crack at the rugby when we were in about year 10.
“He was actually decent because he was quick and he’s not small either.
“He just did it on a mess-about level really, but he wasn’t bad.
“I had actually played with Sam and his brother Ben before I went to Whitchurch.
“I played with them for Cardiff Schools in the Dewar Shield and against them for Llandaff North.
“They were pretty professional from quite a young age, quite driven.
“I played a lot of rugby with the two of them all through the years at school.
“Our rugby team was particularly strong and we won the Welsh Cup in sixth form.
“Sam just really kicked on from there.
“When we were all still playing youth rugby, he was starting his fulltime career and playing for Glamorgan Wanderers.
“He was playing men’s rugby when we were 16. He was a bit of a machine at a young age.
“We still keep in touch. There is a big group of us from the rugby side of it, we are all in the same WhatsApp group.
“It’s all wishing people happy birthday mainly, stuff like that.”
Reflecting on Whitchurch’s remarkable sporting production line, Kear said: “It’s good for the school and good for the village.
“I have a flat in Whitchurch and I love going back there.
“They are always asking me to go into the school, which is nice.
“It’s a great school, full of passionate teachers and everyone wanted to learn and everyone enjoying playing sport.
“It’s great that we’ve had three Wales captains come out of the same school and the same year. It’s incredible really.”
It was while he was in the sixth form that Kear’s sporting story took a decisive turn.
“We heard there was an open trial for the Wales U18s Rugby League team at Llanrumney Fields,” he recalls.
“So, me and a handful of the Whitchurch lads went down and it just went from there.
“I was lucky enough to get picked and went on a little Home Nations tour to Scotland.
“The Celtic Crusaders were just on the up at the time and started an academy, which I joined.
“The rest is history from there really.”
Aged just 20, Kear made his Super League debut for the Crusaders against Leeds Rhinos at Rodney Parade in August 2009.
“That was a great experience. That Leeds team we played was rugby league royalty. “I’ve got great memories of that day.”
Kear was named man of the match and went on to establish himself as a regular in the back-line, making his Wales debut as a full-back against England in October 2009.
But, with the Crusaders failing to
secure a Super League franchise in 2011, he had to start looking for a new club and that took him to Bradford Bulls, where he played mainly on the wing.
“I spent three years there. I still have some really good friends there and great memories of Bradford.
“I met my fiancee, Natalie, in Bradford and we live there now.
“I can’t see me moving out of here anytime soon.”
Following his stint with the Bulls, Kear switched codes in 2014, joining London Welsh following their promotion to the English Premiership.
“I had always wanted to try my hand at union and see how I would have gone in it,” he explains.
“Being quite small and slight, I wondered if I would have been able to hold my own, given the way union went was size and power.
“With Bradford being relegated, felt like the right time for me to try it.
“London Welsh was a great experience. I really enjoyed it even though we didn’t win many games up against the powerhouses in that league.
“I am really glad I did it, but it probably it confirmed that league suited me better because of my build.
“It suits me more on a physical level. It’s faster and I’m a smaller bloke.”
So, back he headed to the 13-man game, spending four seasons with London Broncos, ahead of joining Salford earlier this year.
Along the way, he has added to his tally of Wales caps, being appointed skipper in September 2018.
“One thing I will hold close as one of the proudest moments of my career is captaining my country,” he said.
“As soon as I was asked, I didn’t think twice. It’s the biggest honour you can have as a Welshman.
“To go to World Cups was a great experience as well.”
The move to Salford has delivered a real fairy-tale outcome, with the Red Devils beating Catalan Dragons and Warrington Wolves on their way to this weekend’s Wembley final.
“When we beat Warrington in the semi-final, my old school teacher at Whitchurch, Gwyn Morris, dropped me a text message,” he revealed.
“That was a really nice gesture from him.
“I never thought I would actually reach a Challenge Cup final in my career. I am 32 in November.
“It’s a massive achievement for myself and the club. It was 1969 the last time they were in a final. There’s a real buzz around the place.
“I just hope I am picked to play. If I can be involved in a cup-winning team, that would be the pinnacle of my career.”
A father of three, one boy and two girls – Harrison six, Darcie four and Olivia five months old – Kear is a very contented man with how his life has turned out on and off the field.
“I like how it’s happened,” he says. “Growing up, I was never the best. I was never destined for anything great in sport.
“There were always kids slightly in front of me.
“If someone had told me at 16 that I was going to have the career I have had, I would have probably laughed at them.
“So, I am very grateful for what I’ve achieved.
“I have had a really enjoyable career and I’ve made friends for life.”