Champions' Shakedown Before World Shears

New Zealand shearer Rowland Smith has had a confidence-boosting win over reigning World champion Welsh shearer Richard Jones in the last competition before the 2023 Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships.

The win came on Sunday in a six-man Open final at the Royal Three Counties Show, in Malvern, Worcestershire, ahead of the championships on Thursday-Sunday this week at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh.

The Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team comprises Hawke’s Bay gun Smith and fellow machine shearer Leon Samuels, of Roxburgh, reigning-champion blades shearers Allan Oldfield, living in Hutt Valley but from Geraldine, and Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and woolhandlers Candy Hiri, of Gore, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna.

In a final which included three New Zealand shearers, Hawke’s Bay and former Northland shearer Smith was first to finish the 20 sheep, shorn in 16min 41sec, followed four seconds later by Te Kuiti gun Jack Fagan, with Jones next in 17min 44sec.

The time points advantage of 3.15pts was just enough to hold out Jones’s superior quality points, giving Smith a win by just 0.25pts overall.

They were more than three points clear former Welsh International Gareth Daniel, who was third, followed by Fagan, second Wales World championships representative Gwion Evans, and Masterton shearer David Gordon, who with brother-in-law Paerata Abraham will be shearing test matches against Scotland, England and Wales in the weeks following the championships.

It was Smith’s second win in the UK in a week, as the eight-times Masterton Golden Shears and Te Kuiti New Zealand Shears Open champion prepares for a bid to regain the World title he won in 2014 in Gorey, Ireland.

While veteran Digger Balme, of Otorahanga, and Abraham, were in the 24 who qualified for the semi-finals, Samuels, and England hope Adam Berry, missed out.

Among others who missed out was Oldfield, shearing in an Open machine shearing event for the first time, having earlier been runner-up in the Blades final as he prepared for an Edinburgh defence of the World title he won in France three years ago. The final was by England World title hope Andrew Mudge.

In a six-man final, Oldfield was first to finish, shearing the pen in 15min 18sec and beating next-man-off Mudge by more than two minutes, a time-points advantage of 6.1pts.

Mudge had the better quality points and claimed victory in the final count by 1.567pts, third was Welshman Elfed Jackson, who had the best quality points of all.

Ngaio Hanson had a promising warm-up for her first time in a New Zealand shirt when she competed in the Royal Three Counties Open woolhandling.

But, placed 15th in the heats, she missed out on a place in the 12 for the quarterfinals, which included Masterton woolhandler Cushla Abraham and King Country’s Keryn Herbert, who represents Cook Islands in the World championships, having previously won a World teams title when representing New Zealand in Wales in 2010.

The Open woolhandling final was won by England representative Hilary Bond-Harding, who will also be trying to regain a World title she won in Ireland in 2014, while Wales representatives Sarah-Jane Rees and Ffion Jones were second and third respectively.

Among other New Zealanders competing were Clay Harris, of Piopio, and Adam Gordon, of Masterton, who were third and fifth respectively in the Royal Three Counties Senior shearing final.

Among others based in New Zealand and competing for their own country at the World championship is Oamaru-based Lui Pincol, a member of a Chilean team of two machine shearers and two woolhandlers, managed by Shaun Burgess, of Rakaia.

First held in 1977, founded on the success of the Golden Shears international championships held annually in Masterton since 1961, apart from Covid-era cancellation in 2021 and 2022, the World Championships have this week attracted entries from 28 countries, with a maximum of two in each of the three disciplines of machine shearing, blades shearing and woolhandling.

They were originally scheduled for the Royal Highland Show’s 200th anniversary show last year, but the plan also fell victim to the global pandemic issues.

New Zealand and Australia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, USA, and Wales each have the full complement, and New Zealand’s domination over many years includes twice winning the machine shearing and woolhandling individual and teams events together in Norway in 2008 and Invercargill in 2017.

Dominating the first two days are the Royal Highland Show’s annual events, mainly open to competitors from around the World, including the Scottish National Championship and the Al-Nations events which will include World championships competitors and all-comers

The machine shearing heats will take place in three rounds on Scottish breeds – blackface, cheviot and mule separately, with the first round starting at 7am on Saturday New Zealand time.

All other heats, including two rounds in the blades shearing and two in the woolhandling will take place on the third day, starting at 7pmSaturday New Zealand time, semi-finals will start at 7pm Sunday New Zealand time, with finals starting about 10pm and the six-man individual machine shearing final of 20 sheep each starting at 3am on Monday New Zealand time.

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