The Bachelor: Fieldays edition

Would you move to Australia? What three things would you take on a deserted island with a bachelor? And, What does success look like in five years?

These were the questions eight Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the Year contenders fired at nine bachelorettes in a blind date challenge at today's national agricultural expo south of Hamilton.

The bachelors were tasked with matching each "gumboot girl" with her name by finding out as much as they could about the women in the hour-long group date.

The girls, from varied backgrounds, entered a competition online to date the bachelors and both camps were reportedly a bunch of nerves before the challenge.

It resulted in plenty of random questions and answers including what superpower each woman would choose, who the most important man in her life was, and what her ideal date would be.

One bachelorette, who described herself as "short, ginger and crazy", said she would take some kind of communication with the outside world to a deserted island with bachelor Jamie Havill who singled her out.

Cheeky Australian bachelor Rob Ewing asked which woman would be willing to move back to Gippsland, Victoria with him within six months if all went well at the blind date.

Lucy from Emma's Foodbag quickly quipped: "Business class or economy?".

When asked by Paul Olsen what success looks like in five years, most of the women said they wanted to be further advanced in their careers or personal pursuits. None said owning their own home was a priority.

One of the entrants, Monica Knight, a dairy farmer from Te Awamutu, said afterwards the blind date was fun but none of the bachelors stood out yet.

She said she needed more time to decide who if any could be a potential mate.

The challenge judges, including 2014 Rural Bachelor of the Year Jeff Peek, were unimpressed with the scores when only three of the bachelors managed a meagre four correct names.

But the men were assured a second, third and fourth chance to get to know the women better with an afternoon tea following the date, a special challenge in the Hamilton CBD tomorrow afternoon and a date night in the city on Friday.

The 2016 Rural Bachelor of the Year will be announced on the last of Fieldays, on Saturday.