Like A Rock Star - Jack Fagan Wins Second Wagga Wagga Speed Shear

Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan proved right on-song when he successfully defended one of the World’s biggest speed shear titles and spearheaded a New Zealand clean-up of major prizes on Saturday in Wagga Wagga, NSW.

Fresh from an AC/DC concert in Sydney the previous night, he told the crowd at the speed shear: “I actually can’t quite explain how much I love speed shearing, It’s the one thing on earth that makes me feel like an absolute rock star.”

Fagan stripped his final lamb in 17.32sec to claim the A$10,000 first prize and a trip to Wales in July, while Southland shearer Brett Roberts was second, shearing 18.3sec, in the Open final at the Wagga Wagga Speed Shear, which carried over A$65,000 worth of prizes across six events.

It was an anxious wait for the pair, Roberts shearing first and Fagan immediately afterwards and havng to watch the rest, having been the last two qualifiers for the 10-man final.

Roberts was elevated to second place after two quicker Australians were shown the red light for exceeding the quality benchmark, one being West Australian shearer Ethan Harder, at 17.81sec, a week after a 14.85sec winning shear at Casuarina, NSW, one of the fastest ever in a speed shear in Australia.

Third was South Australia shearer Rhys Ericksen, who also leapfrogged two more who were disqualified in the final.

The women’s title was won with a time of 26.88sec by Wagga Wagga-based Sacha Bond, originally from Palmerston North but who was based in Piopio when she set a World nine-hour lambs record of 720 two years ago in Southland.

The Intermediate title was won by Jayden Mahaki, from Rangiora and who lives in Victoria, and the woolhandlers’ Quick Throw was won by Arahia Tuwhangai, from Kawhia..

Bond also wins a trip to Wales, where she and Fagan will represent the Wagga Wagga Speed Shear at the Welsh International Speed Shear just before the Royal Welsh Show.

The globe-trotting Fagan, now winner of 84 Open speed shear titles, and son of shearing legend Sir David Fagan, reckoned it must have been the biggest week of his life “in the Southern Hemisphere.”

Last Saturday he won the New Zealand Corriedales Open final over 10 sheep each at the Royal New Zealand Show in Christchurch, and back-to-back speed shear finals at the Rakaia Tavern that night in South Canterbury and the next day at the Waiau RFC in North Canterbury, and then indulged his passion for rock music at the Metallica concert in Auckland on Wednesday, and the AC/DC concert in Sydney on Friday, before flying to Wagga Wagga on Saturday morning.

Syd Hall, from Whanganui, was the top qualifier from the semi-finals, among 30 qualifiers from the original field of 58, but had to settle for 5th in the final.

Samuels and Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham, who in March won the New Zealand Shears Open Speed Shear in Te Kuiti for a third time, were both eliminated in the semi-finals.

Despite having had “one hell of a a 10 days”, Fagan is flying home for the Matiere Cosmopolitan Club Speed Shear on Friday, the Taranaki Shears in Stratford next Saturday, and the Whangarei A and P show the following weekend.

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