Big Day For Aria Wilderness - New Zealand Beats Wales In Shearing Test

Test-match sport with World champion came to one of New Zealand’s smallest communities when New Zealand beat Wales by just 1.25 points on Friday in the first of three matches in the Wools of New Zealand shearing series.

The match of two shearers per team over 20 lambs each took place on the outskirts of King Country township Aria (population 240 at last Census) and featured Welsh gun Gwion Evans, preparing for next month’s defence in Masterton of the Golden Shears World Championships title he won in Scotland in 2023.

But first blood went to Northland shearer Toa Henderson, who won the Royal Welsh Open last July during a UK tour in which he and teammate Jack Fagan, of Te Kuiti, were beaten 2-1 by Wales.

At the Aria Waitangi Day Sports, with a place already secured for the World championships on March 4-7, Henderson shore the 20 lambs in 14min 40sec, 22 seconds quicker than next-man-off Fagan, 49 seconds clear of first Welshman Llyr Jones, and more than two minutes quicker than Evans, who finished in 16m 44s.

But the Welsh had the better quality, with Evans knocking-back the time-points deficit with a quality rating more than two points better than either man in the black singlets.

The second test is at the Franklin show’s Counties shears on February 22, and the third at the Taumarunui Shears on February 27.

It was a big day for Henderson, who also won the Aria Open final, shearing 20 ewes in 14m 58s and winning by 2.5 points from runner-up Jones, scoring his best individual results in a New Zealand show Open final.

On a day in which 122 competitors took part, the Senior and Junior finals went to competitors from overseas, to Callum Bosley (England) and Sean Dunne respectively, while the Intermediate final was won by Zakaia Lewis, of Gisborne and Dannevirke.

In the woolhandling, Taumarunui’s Vinniye Phillips beat reigning New Zealand Shears Open champion Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti, to win the Open final, with Senior honours going to Chloe Henderson, of Feilding. The Junior final being won by Herbert’s daughter, Ngahuia Salmond, who on Saturday also won the Junior shearing final at the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton, and the Novice woolhandling final was won by Phillips’ niece, Phaeton-Ray Phillips.

RESULTS from the Aria Waitangi Day Sports at Aria, King Country, on Friday, February 6, 2026:

Shearing:

International (20 lambs) New Zealand (Toa Henderson 14m 40s, 54.45pts; Jack Fagan 16m 2s, 59.15pts) 113.6pts beat Wales (Llyr Jones 15m 29s, 56.25pts; Gwion Evans 16m 44s, 58.6pts) 114.85pts.

Open final (20 sheep): Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 14m 58s, 52.2pts, 1; Llyr Jones (Wales) 15m 41s, 55pts, 2; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 16m 52s, 55.6pts, 3; Reuben Alabaster (Taihape) 16m 35s, 56.05pts, 4.

Senior final (10 sheep): Callum Bosley (England/Otorohanga) 10m 20s, 37.1pts, 1; Cody Waihape (Gore) 10m 48s, 39.8pts, 2; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 10m 53s, 40.85pts, 3; Julian Karl (Germany) 11m 20s, 41.1pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Zakaia Lewis (Gisborne/Dannevirke) 7m 30s, 30.17pts, 1; Tom Charnley (North Yorkshire, England) 8m 34s, 31.7pts, 2; Sam Smeaton (Yorkshire, England) 8m 48s, 31.9pts, 3; Lydia Thomson (Rangiora/Hastings) 9m 28s, 33.5pts, 4.

Junior final (4 sheep): Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 7m 15s, 25.75pts, 1; Kingston Pue (Raetihi) 6m 58s, 26.9pts, 2; Izzy Ferguson (Central Hawke’s Bay) 6m 37s, 28.6pts, 3; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 7m 52s, 32.35pts, 4.

Novice (1 sheep): Alexis Young (Gisborne) 3m 11s, 16.55pts, 1; Ngahuia Salmond (Te Kuiti) 3m 12s, 18.6pts, 2; Corey Mason 3m 1s, 20.05pts, 3; James Mutch (Dannevirke) 3m 29s, 48.45pts, 4.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 51.838pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 72.476pts, 2; Monica Potae (Milton/Kennedy Bay) 122.682pts, 3.

Senior final: Chloe Henderson (Feilding) 60.1pts, 1; Kelly Barrett (Kawhia) 66.12pts, 2; Tia Manson (Piopio) 93.03pts, 3.

Junior final: Ngahuia Salmond (Te Kuiti) 56.5pts, 1; Atiria Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 59.59pts, 2; Paige Marshall (Kihikihi) 60.62pts, 3.

Novice: Phaeton-Ray Phillps (Taumarunui) 56pts, 1; Marieke Muller 62pts, 2; Kasey Hiriaki (Piopio) 77pts, 3.

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