Welsh win Six Nations - at shearing

Welsh win Six Nations - at shearing

Welsh prospects for next week’s Golden Shears World Championships soared when Wales successfully defended their Six Nation’s machine shearing title at the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland today.

The World Championships pairing of Gareth Daniel and Richard Jones, joined by Ian Jones,

figured in an exciting match-race with regular rivals Scotland in front of about 800 people packing the show’s shearing pavilion and surrounds.

Finishing in 14min 53sec, the Welsh beat Scots shearers Gavin Mutch, Hamish Mitchell and Calum Shaw by just five seconds.

While World champion Mutch claimed individual honours after time and quality points were collated, the Welsh commanded the next three individual placings and won with a comfortable margin of 7.85pts.

Wales won the event when it was first held in 1963, and has now won 13 times, including three in the last four years.

Third was the home team of World Championship shearers Ivan Scott and Ian Montgomery, joined by Jimmy McAuley.

At the World Championships starting next Thursday in Gorey, about an hour south of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, nations are limited two competitors each in machine shearing, blade shearing (or hand shearing as it is sometimes known), and woolhandling.

Result::

Six-Nations Championship (18 sheep): Wales (Richard Jones, Gareth Daniel, Ian Jones) 69.884pts, 1; Scotland (Gavin Mutch, Hamish Mitchell, Calum Shaw) 76.734pts, 2; Northern Ireland (Jack Robinson, Ian Montgomery, Jimmy McAuley) 78.517pts, 3; England (Adam Berry, Antony Rooke, Dean Nelmes) 81.832pts, 4; Republic of Ireland (Ivan Scott, Tom Kennedy, Mark McGeown) 87.717pts, 5; France (Daniel Boillot, Thimoleon Resneau, Christophe Riffaud) 89.05pts, 6.

ENDS

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