Kiwi shearers dine out on Irish lamb

Kiwi shearers dine out on Irish lamb

The New Zealand shearing team has again swept the major honours at a major contest in the UK with a pair of victories overnight at the Rickamore Shears in Northern Ireland.

John Kirkpatrick, of Napier, and Nathjan Stratford, of Invercargill, shearing their first lambs on tour after four weeks’ shearing adult sheep, won a test match against Northern Ireland, and finished first and second respectively in the Rickamore Shears Open final, in which all five finalists are based in New Zealand.

Third was Te Kuiti shearing legend David Fagan, Irish champion, World eight-hour lambshearing record holder and Irishman Ivan Scott was fourth, and Hawke's Bay shearer Matt Smith was fifth.

Fagan’s son, Jack, who has dominated Senior class shearing in the UK this season, had to settle for second to Irishman Sean Kerlin in the Rickamore Senior final.

Kirkpatrick and Stratford earlier in the tour shared a test series 1-1 with Scotland, while Kirkpatrick’s 600 pounds collect today was his third winning purse in four Open finals.

They now head to Wales for the final stage of their tour with the Cothi Shears on Friday, the Lampeter Shears the following day, the Royal Welsh Show on July 23-26, and the Corwen Shears in North Wales on July 27-28.

ENDS

© Scoop Media