NZ shearers on top in World shears warm-up

MEDIA RELEASE

On behalf of Shearing Sports New Zealand

July 11, 2010

New Zealand shearers on top in World shears warm-up

New Zealand shearers have cleaned-up in a major World Championships buildup in England with one blemish - the two Kiwi team members in the main event were beaten by another Kiwi.

The open final at the Lakeland Shears in Cockermouth, Cumbria, was won on Saturday by Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick, on a competition holiday in the UK with his wife after missing out on selection in the Shearing Sports New Zealand team earlier this year.

But the machine shearing team members, Te Kuiti icon David Fagan and Waipawa gun Cam Ferguson, completed a Kiwi trifecta, finishing second and third respectively just 10 days out from the 14th Golden Shears World Championships at the Royal Welsh Show.

There was even better news for New Zealand with Canterbury blades shearers Brian Thomson, of West Melton, and Allen Gemmell, of Loburn, finishing first and second in their first UK outing, just a day after arriving from New Zealand.

Kirkpatrick, who was second to Taranaki shearer Paul Avery in the 2008 World Championhips final in Norway, was recording his second win in the UK this season, by just four-tenths of a point from World Championships favourite Fagan, who is still a win away from winning his 600th open-class title.

Fagan, 48 and winner of five World individual titles from 1988 to 2003, was top qualifier for Saturday’s final in which leading Welshman Gareth Daniels was fourth and English shearer Steve Capstick fifth.

While the form of Thomson and Gemmell was a big confidence-booster, their event was missing the leading South Africa and Lesotho shearers who have dominated recent World Championships blades finals.

Fagan and Ferguson head for the Glenarm Shears in Northern Ireland before rejoining the rest of the team for the Great Yorkshire Show on Wednesday and two other one-day competitions in Wales before the World Championships on July 20-21.

ENDS

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