Watch: Bill English, Damien O'Connor shear against The Country's best

Speed shearing got political at Southern Field Days in Waimumu today when former Prime Minister Bill English and current Minister for Agriculture Damien O'Connor entered a competition against The Country's host Jamie Mackay.

The competitions were judged by shearing legend Sir David Fagan who was looking forward to seeing Jamie Mackay in the middle of a "political sandwich."

Round One - Mackay v English

Jamie Mackay admitted earlier on The Country that he would go easy on Bill English as he believed the former Prime Minister had had a "rough week," following his resignation from the National Party on Tuesday.

However, Mackay's charity didn't extend to letting English get a head start after The Country host discovered his own handpiece was faulty. In fact, notoriously competitive Mackay made English stop shearing and then promptly started while the Minister was standing there staring at him.

False starts - 4
Complaints from Mackay - 5
Mackay - 56 seconds
English - 1.04 minutes

Judge's decision - Green light for both sheep - Jamie Mackay takes this round out.

Round Two - Mackay v O'Connor

Minister for Agriculture Damien O'Connor denied accusations that he had to consult Google to learn about shearing but admitted he was a novice when it comes to the sport.

After shaking hands and donning their fetching black shearing singlets the two men got down to business (after Mackay complained about his sheep being inadequate).

Shearing virgin O'Connor definitely struggled but valiantly battled on with instruction and assistance from Sir David Fagan.

False starts - 2
Complaints from Mackay - 2
Mackay - under a minute
O'Connor - well over a minute with extra time added to deal with a sheep "Mohawk."

Overall winner on the day as judged by Sir David Fagan - Jamie Mackay