Toa Henderson Takes Royal Welsh Open Shearing Title, But Kiwis Lose Test In The Unindest Cut Of All

Northland shearer Toa Henderson has scored a big win in claiming the Royal Welsh Show All-Nations title as he and Wools of New Zealand team “master-blaster” Jack Fagan, of Te Kuiti, did their best to slam the Welsh on their home stage today.

Henderson, who won the Golden Shears and New Zealand Open championships’ double in March, and has won all three events to date in a 2026 World championships New Zealand team selection series, blasted through the 20 welsh speckle lambs in under 12m 38s minutes to be first off the board in the six-man final, the time and quality points giving him a comfortable win by 2.3pts over Welsh shearer and reigning World champion Gwion Lloyd Evans, who shore the 20 in 13m 23s.

Defending champion Fagan was third, just 0.15pts further back, in his bid to win the title for a third time, while sixth was a third New Zealand shearer, in Matt Smith, from Northland and Hawke’s Bay but farming in Cornwall and set to represent England in the World championships in Masterton next March.

But the tactic of trying to blow the Welsh away with speed in a test match soon afterwards fell short of the ultimate goal when, despite Fagan claiming the time honours in a close battle, the Kiwis were beaten by the World Championships bound new Welsh team of Evans and Llyr Jones.

With barely five seconds separating Fagan, Evans and Henderson at the end of another 20-lambs shear, the Welsh quality carried the day, for a win by 6.4pts, and a 2-0 lead in an annual series last won by a New Zealand team in Wales six years ago, although Wales have not won a series in New Zealand.

But the margin was inflated by a five-points penalty against Henderson for a single cut on his last lamb.

The Kiwis had got off to a great start in the all-nations heats, of 69 shearers, mainly from Wales. Fagan headed the 24 qualifiers for the quarterfinals, with Henderson in sixth place

Team manager Neil Fagan, a former senior title in Wales and on his first visit to the show in 22 years, said that without the blemish New Zealand would have gone close to winning the test, and he was looking forward to the black singlets dominating on Saturday at the Corwen Shears, where Fagan will be again defending an all-nations title.

Henderson, who won the recent French Open but failed to qualify for the Cothi Shears Open final in Wales last Saturday, told the crowd it felt “pretty good” to make the final after missing out in Cothi, and he was rapt to win at the Royal Welsh in his first tour in the UK.

It was the 50th anniversary Royal Welsh championship, father Mike was in the crowd, and it was wife Phoebe’s birthday.

“I did it for us,” he said, as he raised the Godfrey Bowen Memorial Trophy.

It was a big day for Llyr Jones, who shears in New Zealand mainly for Wairarapa contractors Abraham Shearing, and who, in winning the Champion Shearer of Wales final claimed a place in the Wales World championships team for the first time.

Evans claimed his place in the team for the March 4-7 championships in Masterton by winning the Welsh Shearing Circuit final.

The 2019 World champion, Welshman Richard Jones, who with Evans won the teams title in Scotland two years ago, reached both finals today, but missed selection in the team.

Amid the fever-pitch passion of the Welsh setting at Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells, in Powys, Mid Wales, the test match was introduced by a Welshman singing the New Zealand anthem in Māori and English, followed by haka Ka Mate with more than 20 answering the near Royal Command call to put up the challenge in front of at least 2000 spectators.

Results:

International (20 lambs): Wales 97.35pts (Gwion Lloyd Evans 12m, 47.5pts; Llyr Jones 13m 4s, 50.2pts) New Zealand 103.75pts Jack Fagan 11.56s, 49.2pts; Toa Henderson 12m 1s, 54.55pts).. Wales won by 6.4pts, and lead the series 2-0. The last test is at the Corwen Shears on Saturday.

Royal Welsh All-Nations Open final (20 lambs): Toa Henderson (New Zealand) 12m 38s, 44.7pts, 1; Gwion Lloyd Evans (Wales) 13m 23s, 47pts, 2; Jack Fagan (New Zealand) 13.m 8s, 47.15pts, 3; Gareth Daniel (Wales) 13m 55s, 49.35psts, 4; Richard Jones (Wales) 14m 7s, 49.8pts, 5; Matt Smith (New Zealand/England) 13m 33s, 50.3pts, 6.

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