New Zealand has won three out of six world shearing titles in France however, were unable to secure a win in either of the machine shearing categories.
The finals of the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in the French town of Le Dorat have been completed.
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Canterbury blade shearers Allan Oldfield and Tony Dobbs caused an upset by beating previous regular champions South Africa in the teams final.
They then went on to finish first and fourth respectively in the individual championship, with Oldfield beating defending champion Mayenseke Shweni.
Dobbs had previously won the individual title at the 1988 World championships in Masterton.
The third win was in the teams’ woolhandling final where Sheree Alabaster, of Taihape, and Pagan Karauria, of Alexandra, maintained New Zealand's stranglehold on the title from the victory by Joel Henary and Maryanne Baty in Invercargill two years ago.
The New Zealand national anthem was played after each of the first three presentations in the lengthy closing ceremony and prizegiving.
Karauria was third in the individual final won by Aled Jones, of Wales, and Alabaster was fourth.
It was, however, only the third time in the 18 championships since the first in 1977 that New Zealand did not win either of the two machine shearing titles.
Hawke's Bay shearers Rowland Smith and Cam Ferguson were third in the teams' event, won by Scottish shearers Gavin Mutch and Calum Shaw, and were second and third in the individual event won by Richard Jones, of Wales.
Scotland will host the next championships at the 20th anniversary Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh in 2022.
Newshub.
