King and Fagan in form for Shears

Hawke's Bay shearer Dion King and King Country icon David Fagan set the scene for possibly one of the greatest Golden Shears this week when they dominated the Pahiatua Shears Open final yesterday.

For King it was a third win in a week, and for Fagan the sixth time runner-up in four weeks, but both downed new in-form hope and Hawke's Bay-based Northlander Rowland Smith and reigning Golden Shears champion John Kirkpatrick, of Napier.

King won the race shearing 20 sheep in 16min 49.09sec, beating Fagan off the board by 18 seconds, and also kept up the shearing-board quality to eventually take the win by 0.862 points.

With Whanganui shearer Jerome McCrea claiming another creditable third placing, Smith had to settle for fourth place in an unsuccessful bid to complete a weekend triple-header after winning the Taumarunui Jamboree Shears on Friday and the Apiti Sports final on Saturday, his seventh win in a month.

Southland shearer Darin Forde was fifth and sixth was Kirkpatrick.

Raetihi shearer Krishane Edmonds won the senior final, in which English shearer Ross Crang was fourth and Frenchman Daniel Boillot was fifth. The intermediate final also featured two overseas shearers in Dean Nelmes, of England, and Pauline Bolay of Canada, who were third and sixth respectively behind winner Mario Taumata, of Taumarunui, and the junior final was won by Golden Shears southern hope, Andrew Leith, of Dipton.

Smith's victory at Apiti in northern Manawatu on Saturday came just 24 hours after victory at the Taumarunui Jamboree Shears, and was the 25-year-old's seventh open win in four weeks.

Defending world champion Cam Ferguson did not compete at either Taumarunui or Apiti, while Kirkpatrick failed to qualify for the Apiti final.