7 Jul 2009

Kiwi shearers locked out at Lochearnhead

7:46 am on 7 July 2009

New Zealand shearers John Kirkpatrick and James Fagan have again struggled with the sheep and shearers of Scotland to be beaten for the second time in a week at the start of a seven-Test United Kingdom tour.

The latest defeat, giving Scottish shearers Gavin Mutch and Hamish Mitchell a 2-0 series victory, came at the Lochearnhead Shears, one of the biggest shearing competitions in Britain.

Fagan, from Te Kuiti, pulled out all the stops to steal the Test through 15 Scottish blackface sheep, beating Mutch off the board by seven seconds.

Kirkpatrick, from Napier, was more than a sheep behind his team-mate and the New Zealanders couldn't match the Scots for quality, the home team sweeping to victory by 5.62 points.

Kirkpatrick and Fagan next meet England in a Test at the Lakeland Shears at Cockermouth, Cumbria, next weekend.