NZ shearer end tour with Corwen defeat and drawn series

NZ shearer end tour with Corwen defeat and drawn series

The New Zealand shearing team has had to settle for a drawn series with Wales in the final farewell to black-singlet icon David Fagan.

Te Kuiti veteran Fagan and Hastings shearer Dion King were beaten by Welsh shearers Gareth Daniel and Richard Jones at the Corwen Shears on Saturday in the final match of an annual four-test series in the UK.

Having also beaten the Kiwis during the week at the Royal Welsh Show, the Welsh levelled the series at 2-all, completing a comeback after Fagan and King won the opening two tests the previous weekend against Welsh shearers Gwion Evans and Rhys Jones.

New Zealand have now gone four consecutive UK tours without a series win over Wales, although Wales is still to beat New Zealand in a single test in New Zealand.

Fagan, briefly out of retirement to shear the series because South Island shearer Tony Coster was unable to undertake the full eight-show tour which started in Scotland last month, was runner-up to Daniel in the Corwen Shears Open, which Fagan had won 15 times from 1989 to 2013.

But the final again highlighted the emergence of son Jack Fagan, who, having won the Royal Welsh Open last Wednesday, was first to finish Saturday’s final with 20 lambs shorn in 11min 59sec. He was fourth overall.

Results from the Corwen Shears, at Corwen, North Wales, on Saturday, July 25, 2015:

Shearing:

International (20 lambs): Wales 104.95pts (Gareth Daniel 13min 4sec, 51.7pts; Richard Jones 14min 20sec, 53.25pts) beat New Zealand 111.7pts (David Fagan 13min 35sec, 54.25pts; Dion King 13min, 57.45pts) by The test series was drawn 2-2.

Corwen Shears Open final (20 lambs): Gareth Daniel (Wales) 12.5sec, 46.8pts, 1; David Fagan (New Zealand) 12min 23sec, 48.5pts, 2; Ian Jones (Wales) 13min 20sec, 50.4pts, 3; Jack Fagan (New Zealand) 11min 59sec, 52pts, 4; Rhys Jones (Wales) 13min 10sec, 52.1pts, 5; Gwion Evans (Wales) 12min 36sec, 54.9pts, 6.

ENDS

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