Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick has taken two Southland shears titles in just two days.
Kirkpatrick, who with Taranaki shearer Paul Avery won a World teams title in Norway in 2008, won the Southland Shears' feature lambshearing title at the Winton Show, 24 hours after winning the Northern Southland Community Shears' ewes final in a woolshed near Lumsden.
He won the same double last year but had to beat even tougher opposition at the weekend, including Te Kuiti's five-times World champion and reigning 16-times Golden Shears open champion David Fagan, who reached both finals and was runner-up yesterday.
They are among about 10 shearers considered to be serious chances for the two machine shearing positions at this year's World Championships during the Royal Welsh Show at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, from July 19 to 21.
Most were at the two Southland competitions, although team selection is based only on the open finals at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March and the New Zealand championships in Te Kuiti in April.
Meanwhile, Taranaki-based Scottish champion Gavin Mutch, who was beaten favourite in the world individual final won by Avery in Norway 15 months ago, took advantage of the Kiwi stars' absence from North Island competition by winning the open final at the Wairoa Shears in the northern Hawke's Bay.
The 87 shearers included a 27-strong open-class field, among them Far North shearer Matthew Smith, who less than 24 hours earlier set a world ewe-shearing record of 578 in eight hours.
Gisborne teenager Joel Henare and Christchurch woman Angelique Miller (formerly Gage) won the open woolhandling events in Southland on Friday and Saturday respectively, with former three-times World champion Joanne Kumeroa, of Wanganui, runner-up in the lambs final.
The three are among the frontrunners for New Zealand's two World Championshsips woolhandling positions, to be decided in a selection final during the Golden Shears.