Hawke’s Bay brothers’ big shearing world champs chance disappears in last-day drama

The end of a heat in the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Scotland last week, with Welsh judge Nicky Beynon (left) and brothers Matthew and Rowland Smith, who shore for England and New Zealand respectively. Photo / Farming Scotland

The tantalising prospect of a head-to-head world shearing title between two Hawke’s Bay brothers competing for different countries disappeared when they were eliminated in the semifinals as the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships drew to an end in Scotland.

The June 22-25 competition at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh, loomed ever since Maraekakaho shearer, farmer and agricultural and shearing contractor Rowland Smith, winner of the title in Ireland in 2014, secured his place in the Kiwi team by successfully defending the New Zealand Golden Shears Open title in March.

Brother Matthew Smith, an award-winning Cornwall farmer who, like Rowland, is a world shearing record-holder, won his way into the England team a year ago.

Even given the vagaries of sheep breeds and conditions, which can vary greatly from country to country, many observers saw that, with both having won recent competitions in the UK, it was a near formality they would reach the six-man Sunday-afternoon final of 20 sheep, along with other favourites from Wales and Scotland.

But in their sudden elimination — most having some difficulty with local breed the Scottish blackface — they were in good company, with three-times finalist and two-times teams title winner Hamish Mitchell, of Scotland, also among those making premature exits. Rowland Smith became a part of history in that it was the first time in 19 world championships — since the first in England in 1977 — that New Zealand had not won at least one title across the spectrum of machine and blade shearing and woolhandling championships.

It was the first time New Zealand had not had a finalist in either individual finals, and this year’s six-strong Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team mustered just a single top-three placing across the six events.

That was in contrast to blade shearing individual and teams titles and the woolhandling teams title in France four years ago, the individual and teams titles in machine shearing and woolhandling in Invercargill in 2017, and 43 titles over the years, four times that of the next best-performing country, and including multiple individual and teams titles involving Hawke’s Bay shearers since 2008.

The closest the Kiwi team came to a title in Scotland was the blades final second placing to defending champions and South Canterbury shearers Allan Oldfield and Tony Dobbs, beaten only by rookie international South Africa pair Bonile Rabela and Zwelamakhosi Mbuweni, who were also first and second in the individual final, from which pre-championships favourite and defending champion Oldfield was absent after also being eliminated in a semifinal.

Dobbs, the winner of more than 100 finals in a 40-year blade-shearing career, including victory in an all-New Zealand field at the 1988 championships in Masterton, was fourth in the individual final, woolhandlers Candy Hiri, of Gore, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna, were fourth in the woolhandling teams event, and Rowland Smith and Southland shearer Leon Samuels wore the black singlet to sixth in the machine shearing teams final.

It became a benefit for Wales, with Gwion Evans and defending champion Richard Jones finishing first and second in the machines individual final and winning the teams title, and Ffion Jones and Sarah-Jane Rees winning the woolhandling teams final, with Scotland representatives Rosie Keenan and Audrey Aiken were first and second respectively in the individual final.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 50 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.