Buick win adds to Kiwi successes

The All Blacks weren't the only Kiwis who chalked up a major sporting victory over the Aussies over the weekend. FILE PHOTO

Pongaroa shearer David Buick also gave our transtasman neighbours a decent beating when he won the open shearing title at the Romney Shears at Warrnambool, Victoria, on Saturday night.

It was his second successive win in this prestigious event and, to rub the salt into the Aussie wounds, another Kiwi in Dean Ball claimed the runners-up spot.

Not one to talk himself up, Buick admits to being "pretty happy" with his performance which had him finish shearing his 17 crossbreds in a slick 15min 15sec. He was virtually a whole sheep ahead of his nearest rival and when quality points were taken into account he had a comfortable two points to spare from Ball.

"Everything went pretty much according to plan," Buick said. "My sheep behaved themselves and that's always a big help. It came down to just getting them done as quickly as I could and without making too many mistakes along the way."

For Buick, nerves play little part in finals because the focus is on the job at hand rather than on anything else which is happening around him

"It's like being in the sub-conscious, you get into your own little world and nothing else matters. It's no different than what happens in the sheds every day, when you do the same thing over and over again the mind turns off to a large degree."

Once the Warrnambool event was over, Buick's next assignment was to find a pub to watch the Rugby World Cup decider and he said it was "really awesome" to watch Richie McCaw and company become the first team to win the Webb Ellis Cup in successive tournaments.

"Having a whole bunch of Aussies around made it even better ... mind you, it would have been different had the boot been on the other foot!"

Delighted as he is to have two Warrnambool titles on his shearing CV, Buick says his main ambition remains the same as it has been ever since he got into competitive shearing, and that's taking out the coveted open title at what he regards as the ultimate test, Masterton's Golden Shears.

"That's the big one, it's what every shearer dreams about."