Clean sweep for New Zealand in shearing test series

NZ - Rowland Smith (left), John Kirkpatrick and manager Johnny Fraser. Wales - Alun Lloyd Jones and Matthews Evans and manager Dilwyn Evans. Photo / Doug Laing

The New Zealand shearing team of World champions John Kirkpatrick and Rowland Smith completed a clean sweep of the four-test CP Wool Shearing Series against Wales on Saturday.

The latest win came at the Apiti Sports Shears in Northern Manawatu where they beat Welsh shearers Matthew Evans and Alun Lloyd Jones by 14.65pts, having won the previous tests at Marton, Balclutha and Gore also all by more than 14 points.

The black-singlet triumph avenged a 4-0 July 2017 UK tour loss to Wales, which has never won a shearing test in New Zealand, although Evans and Jones did win the opening match of their tour against a Tauranga A and P Shears selection on January 14.

All four held the lead at various stages of the contest of 20 sheep each, but in the end the Kiwis pulled away with Kirkpatrick finishing in 19min 5sec to pip teammate Smith, who for the third time in a row at the shows in the series came out with the best points overall and then won the show's Open final.

In his 35th consecutive win in Open finals in New Zealand, Smith did not have it as comfortable as some of his other win however, winning by just 0.55pts from Pongaroa farmer David Buick.

Third was Taranaki farmer Gavin Mutch, who 24 hours earlier had been runner-up to Smith at Taumarunui, beaten by just 0.344pts, the two results offering some hope of breaking Smith's sequence at the 58th Golden Shears in Masterton this week.

Buick was the only shearer to finish the six-man final of 20 sheep each in under 19 minutes, beating Smith by seven seconds.

Taihape school teacher Sheree Alabaster, who is also a woolhandlers representative on the Shearing Sports New Zealand national committee, added the Apiti Open woolhandling title to that which she had won at Taimarunui the previous day, two confidence boosters as the seven times New Zealand Open woolhandling champion heads to Masterton with the hope of winning her first Golden Shears title.

Winton shearer Jade Maguire Ratima emerged as possibly the strongest South Island hope for a Golden Shears shearing title when he won the Apiti Senior final, in which Woodville shearer Tegwyn Bradley had to be content with third place after the previous day at Taumarunui having his sixth win in a row.

Maguire Ratima's brother, Brandon, helped shut the North Island out of the top placings in the Intermediate final, in which he was third to winner Jeremy Leygonie, from France, and runner-up Gethin Lewis, from Wales, while the Junior final was won by Pongaroa shearer Liam Pritchard, heading-off form competitors Reuben Alabaster, of Taihape, and Jonathan Painter, of Pahiatua.

Napier's Ricci Stevens won the Senior woolhandling final, and the Junior woolhandling final was won by Summer Pritchard, of Pongaroa.

RESULTS from the Apiti Sport Shears at Apiti Domain on Saturday, February 24, 2018:
Shearing:

International:
CP Wool Shearing Series, Fourth Test (20 sheep): New Zealand 134.45pts (Rowland Smith 19min 6sec, 66.7pts; John Kirkpatrick 19min 5sec, 67.75pts) beat Wales 149.1pts (Alun Lloyd Jones 19min 39sec, 73.6pts; Matthew Evans 19min 27sec, 75.5pts) by 14.65pts. New Zealand won the series 4-0.

Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Maraekakaho) 17min 2sec, 58.7pts, 1; David Buick (Pongaroa) 16min 55sec, 59.25pts, 2; Gavin Mutch (Scotland/Whangamomona) 17min 24sec, 62.5pts, 3; John Kirkpatrick (Napier) 17min 13sec, 62.9pts, 4; Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti) 18min 41sec, 68.05pts, 5; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 19min 34sec, 69.4pts, 6.

Open Plate (10 sheep): Jimmy Samuels (Marton) 9min 16sec, 41.7pts, 1; Ethan Pankhurst (Masterton) 10min 39sec, 43.15pts, 2; Paerate Abraham (Masterton) 10min 42sec, 43.4pts, 3; Axle Reid (Taihape) 10min 6sec, 43.5pts, 4; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 10min 6sec, 46.6pts, 5; Turei Edmonds (Raetihi) 11min 11sec,6.

Senior final (10 sheep): Jade Maguire Ratima (Winton) 11min 52sec, 45.3pts, 1; David Gordon (Masterton) 12min 40sec, 48.3pts, 2; Tegwyn Bradley (Woodville) 11min 37sec, 48.85pts, 3; Connor Puha (Kimbolton) 12min 25sec, 49.85pts, 4; Laura Bradley (Woodville) 14min 5sec, 52.25pts, 5; Thomas Lima (Levin) 14min 19sec, 53.45pts, 6.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Jeremy Leygonie (France) 9min 19sec, 36.45pts, 1; Gethin Lewis (Wales) 9min, 38.1667pts, 2; Branden Maguire Ratima (Winton) 9min 11sec, 38.3833pts, 3; Gwydion Davies (Wales)9min 22sec, 38.7667pts, 4; Daniel Seed (Woodville) 8min 49sec, 38.7833pts, 5; Ruka Braddick (Eketahuna) 10min 6sec, 45.4667pts, 6.

Junior final (4 sheep): Liam Pritchard (Pongaroa) 7min 59sec, 33.2pts, 1; Reuben Alabaster (Taihape) 7min 33sec, 38.9pts, 2; Jonathan Painter (Pahiatua) 7min 52sec, 40.85pts, 3; Llion Harries (-) 8min 10sec, 42.75pts, 4; Daniel Biggs (Mangamahu) 8min 1sec, 43.05pts, 5; Mark Baxter (Pongaroa) 8min 9sec, 48.45pts, 6.

Novice (1 sheep): Karolin Bunting (Germany) 4min 3sec, 27.15pts, 1; Samantha Baxter (Pongaroa) 4min 55sec, 34.75pts, 2; Logan Kamura (Marton) 4min 24sec, 37.2pts, 3; Jono Hicks (Marton) 5min 27sec, 38.35pts, 4; Andrew Baxter (Pongaroa) 3min 59sec, 38.95pts, 5; Rex Peterson (-) 3min 52sec, 43.6pts.

Veterans (2sheep): Russell Knight (Apiti) 3min 123sec, 24.6pts, 1; Peter McCabe (Tauranga) 3min 55sec, 27.75pts, 2; Kevin Buckman (Apiti) 3min 39sec, 37.45pts, 3; Chris Drew (-) 3min 46sec, 43.3pts, 4; Andy Owen (-) 3min 27sec, 54.35pts, 5.

Woolhandling:
Open final: Sheree Alabaster (Taihape) 54.01pts, 1; Ronnie Goss (Mangamahu) 79.67pts, 3; Rahna Williams (Flaxmere) 99.3pts, 3; Logan Kamura (Marton) 105.06pts, 4.

Senior final: Ricci Stevens (Napier) 79.44pts, 1; Jimmy Samues (Marton) 82.07pts, 2; Ash Boyce (Dnnevirke) 89.07pts, 3; Angela Stevens (Napier) 90.41pts, 4.

Junior final: Summer Pritchard (Pongaroa) 42.41pts, 1; Ngaira Puha (Kimbolton) 45.714pts, 2; Whakapunaki Maraki (Flaxmere) 52.588pts, 3; Crystal Bird (Mangatainoka) 72.47pts, 4.

Novice: Ashleigh Knight (Apiti) 42.158pts, 1; Georgia Oliver (-) 52.31pts, 2; Maikaia Ashford (Feilding) 74.68pts, 3; Michael Buick (-) 81.84pts, 4.