The Central Otago town of Alexandra is making up for sitting out much of the Rugby World Cup in the shadow of star-struck neighbour Queenstown by staging its own Tri-Nations - at sheep shearing.
It comes at the 50th New Zealand Merino Shearing and Woolhandling Championships which started today.
Teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand will contest internationals in both machine shearing and blades shearing tomorrow night.
Among those flying in, evading the paparazzi at Queenstown Airport on Sunday, was African blades shearing icon Zweliwile Hans, who has won world titles in Ireland, South Africa and Norway, and who hopes in March to add Masterton, the home of the Golden Shears international competition shearing movement.
The New Zealand teams are made up of southern merino experts, Rakaia shearer Grant Smith and host town gun Charlie O'Neill leading the charge in the machine shearing, and Canterbury shearers Brian Thomson and Mike McConnell in the blades team.
About 180 shearers and woolhandlers will be in Alexandra for the championships, the first show of more than 60 in the Shearing Sports New Zealand season, which ends in April and includes the 15th world championships from February 29 to March 3.
In the heart of New Zealand's merino farming, the Alexandra championships are also the only finewool events in the season, the features apart from the internationals being the open shearing and woolhandling finals.
Despite being less familiar with the tough merinos of the south, at least six Hawke's Bay shearers will be among the 48 shearers in the Open heats tomorrow, the most experienced on merinos being Dion King who has worked several seasons in Australia.
Among the others is Dannevirke shearer Paerata Abraham, now based in Australia.
The field includes seven former New Zealand merino title winners, including reigning champion Damian Boyle, from West Australia.
Also competing will be veteran specialist crossbred shearer and multiple world champion and record holder David Fagan, of Te Kuiti, who turns 50 next month and has won more than 610 open-class finals around the world, but never the finewool championships.
The Open woolhandling has attracted 44 entries.
The following week most will also be at the New Zealand Spring Shears in Waimate, before the North Island competition season starts with the Poverty Bay Show on October 15 and the Great Raihania Shears at the Hawke's Bay Show six days later.