World champion shearer David Fagan is unlikely to resist the chance to turn the tables on Hawke's Bay guns John Kirkpatrick and Dion King in the new Great Raihania Shears at the Hawke's Bay Show in Hastings tomorrow.
Fagan was unable to be contacted late this morning, but shearing commentator Koro
Mullins, who saw Kirkpatrick and King beat the usually invincible Fagan in Gisborne on Saturday, said: "He'll be there."
A clash between Fagan and the two Hawke's Bay stars will turn the shears into one of the features of the show, as it was until it disappeared from the programme 15 years ago.
A new shearing committee has added needle to the event by naming it after Rimitiriu "The Great" Raihania, from Mahia, who won the competition at the show in 1902, since recorded as the first machine-shearing competition in the world.
The King Country-based Fagan, winner of more than 500 titles including five World crowns and 15 Golden Shears opens, suffered rare North Island defeat when finishing thirds behind Kirkpatrick and King at the Gisborne A and P Show last Saturday.
King, part of the committee that revived the shearing competition, rubbed salt into the wound by also winning two speedshears, sending Fagan home to Te Kuiti without a single victory in the three events in Poverty Bay.
Mr Mullins, who competed at the last shearing competition at Tomoana, predicted Fagan will front-up, along with other top names like Dean Ball and Paul Avery, who both missed the Gisborne show.
