Irishman lays down shears challenge

Ivan Scott, 33, who has based himself in New Zealand for several months each year since 2000, won Sunday's 20-sheep Connacht Spring Show open final.

An Irish shearer who set a lamb-shearing record in New Zealand has soared into contention for this week's world championships just a few hundred kilometres from his home town, despite never having shorn in a world final.

Ivan Scott, 33, who has based himself in New Zealand for several months each year since 2000, won Sunday's 20-sheep Connacht Spring Show open final, beating everyone else in a field of key world title hopefuls by at least a sheep.

They included New Zealand and Masterton Golden Shears stars Rowland Smith and John Kirkpatrick, and NZ-based Scotsman Gavin Mutch, won who the world open title in Masterton two years ago.

In a spectacular display of speed, Scott was in charge almost from the start of the 20-sheep final which he finished in 16min 21s - almost a minute before Mutch, the next to finish. While all but Robinson had better quality points, Scott had done enough to still win by a comfortable 1.65 points from runner-up Smith, the winner of the Masterton Golden Shears and New Zealand championships open finals for the past two years.

It was Scott's third Connacht win in five years, although he was second last year when Robinson scored the biggest win of his short open-class career.

Mutch, who had been top qualifier from the heats and the semifinals, had to settle for third.

The holder of a world record of 744 lambs in an eight-hour day, shorn in NZ where he works for about four months each year, Scott, from Kilmacrennan, Co Donegal, is yet to reach a world championships final but now becomes a serious threat to the hopes of Mutch, Smith and Kirkpatrick.

Scott, 33, also partnered Robinson in an All-Ireland team which was beaten only by the New Zealanders in a five-nations contest of 10 sheep for each shearer, identical to the conditions of a teams championship which will be one of six world individual and teams machine shearing, blades shearing and woolhandling titles to be decided next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Galway's Tom Kennedy, 47, will join Scott in the Ireland team in Gorey, Co Wexford, after winning the second Irish position in a week-long selection series which ended yesterday. It will be Kennedy's fifth world championships.

A major festival has started in Gorey ahead of the world champs opening tomorrow, when more than 350 shearers and woolhandlers will compete in all-nations events, including 102 competitors from 27 countries, over the following days.