The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Southland shearer wins dream All Blacks supporter trip

By Abbey Palmer
Otago Daily Times·
9 Sep, 2019 01:15 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Back Black All Blacks supporters competition grand prize winner Ash Murray (left), of Ohai, and Six60 bass guitarist Chris Mac. Photo / Supplied

Back Black All Blacks supporters competition grand prize winner Ash Murray (left), of Ohai, and Six60 bass guitarist Chris Mac. Photo / Supplied

For small-town Southland shearer Ash Murray, entering New Zealand Rugby's Back Black supporters' competition was "just a bit of fun".

He never expected he would win the trip of a lifetime.

Mid-shear at an Otahuti shearing shed, the grand prize winner was ambushed by a surprise party earlier this week.

"To be honest it was just crazy. It was all a bit overwhelming and something I didn't expect. We always thought 'what if', but not to count our eggs before they hatched, you know?

"It was an awesome feeling," Murray said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The All Blacks Tours All Finals Package included flights, accommodation, and two tickets to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, among other surprises.

After the campaign was launched in July, Murray entered with a rendition of Ngati Toa's Ka Mate haka.

"It was a song I was always confident playing. I'd been playing it since primary school."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although he had always had a passion for music, it was something he mostly kept to himself, he said.

"A lot of my close mates, I'll play in front of them over a few beers, but it's not something I'd typically do, so it was quite nerve-racking."

As a young Maori living in Ohai, it was difficult to learn about his culture, he said.

"We all had the passion and that hunger to learn, but there wasn't easy access."

At Ohai school, everything changed when he met a mentor named Moko.

"He came and helped us compose music like that. We'd pick out easy hakas, something that we all knew as kids and just put music to it.

"Those were our Maori songs that we learned and we were very fortunate to have Moko there at the time."

Representatives from New Zealand Rugby, along with Six60 bass guitarist Chris Mac, who took a shine to the song, visited Murray's workplace to share the news.

"Chris is a gentleman, he's awesome. We had a chat to him and he stuck around for a few beers."

While he had plenty of friends in line for the second ticket, "you can't not take the wife", he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's a massive package I would probably never be able to afford, or even dream of affording, so it's a wicked opportunity.

"We're just so grateful and appreciative. I'm just going to embrace it."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
The Country

English label set to boost a2 Milk profit

OpinionKem Ormond

Vege tips: A mocktail garden adds colour to your summer drinks

Premium
The Country

'A remarkable feat': Two new species of wētā discovered


Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
Premium
English label set to boost a2 Milk profit
The Country

English label set to boost a2 Milk profit

Analysts await a2 Milk’s annual result to justify share price rise.

17 Aug 01:00 AM
Vege tips: A mocktail garden adds colour to your summer drinks
Kem Ormond
OpinionKem Ormond

Vege tips: A mocktail garden adds colour to your summer drinks

16 Aug 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'A remarkable feat': Two new species of wētā discovered
The Country

'A remarkable feat': Two new species of wētā discovered

16 Aug 05:00 PM


Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet
Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

10 Aug 09:12 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP