Rowland Smith: Hanging up the handpiece after one last world title

Rowland Smith took out the individual machine shearing title at the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Masterton, held March 4 to 7, winning on quality in a tightly contested final. Supplied.

Rowland Smith has claimed a second World Shearing Championship title, more than a decade after his first, cementing his place among the best shearers New Zealand has produced.

The Hawke’s Bay shearer took out the individual machine shearing title at the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Masterton, held March 4 to 7, winning on quality in a tightly contested final.

For Smith, it was about finally finishing something he started years ago.

“I’d been close a couple of times and never managed to back it up, so it was pretty satisfying to get it done,” he said.

His first world title came in 2014 in Ireland, part of a list of goals he had set himself early on.

“I had goals to win the Golden Shears, the New Zealand Shears, the circuit and the world champs,” he said.

“So, ticking that off the first time was huge. But to come back and do it again, after everything, including hip surgery, that was just as satisfying in a different way.”

This time, there was a bit more riding on it.

“It was do or die because I was retiring anyway,” he said.

A pathway into something bigger

For Smith, shearing was never just about winning titles.

“It was never my dream to shear forever,” he said.

“It was a pathway into ag.”

That pathway has taken him all over the world, shearing in the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia, before returning home to farm in Maraekakaho with his wife Ingrid.

The couple now farm around 750 hectares, finishing lambs and cattle, while also running a contracting business, Smith Ag, specialising in direct drilling and cultivation.

Smith still sees shearing as one of the best ways into agriculture.

“It’s a very well-paid career, and if you look after your body you can go a long way with it,” he said.

He is also realistic about the challenges, particularly getting young people into the industry.

“We were almost shamed when I left school for going into ag,” he said.

“But there are so many pathways there. Not everyone gets shown that.”

A shift in the way shearers work

Over the course of his career, Smith has seen a change in how shearers approach the job.

“I think the professionalism has come up,” he said.

“We look after our bodies, our nutrition, our fitness. We’re always asking how we can get more out of ourselves.”

That shift came partly out of necessity.

In his early twenties, Smith was told he may need spinal surgery. Instead, he focused on strength, conditioning and rehab, something that has helped him stay at the top of the sport for more than two decades.

“When people see it working, they naturally want to give it a go,” he said.

It is a noticeable change from the old days, when the job was treated more as a trade than something closer to high performance.

Depth still there

New Zealand’s performance at the championships reflected the strength still in the system.

“There were 120 open shearers at the Golden Shears,” Smith said.

“The depth there is pretty cool.”

While sheep numbers and shearer numbers have both declined over time, he believes there are still positives.

Training systems are improving, and there is a strong group of young shearers coming through.

“I think we’re in a good place at the moment,” he said.

Just getting on with it

Despite the results, Smith does not see himself any differently.

“I don’t see myself as anything other than just me,” he said.

“I just turn up like everybody else and have a go.”

It is a simple approach, but one that has carried him through a long career at the top of the sport.

Now, with a second world title secured, he steps back from competition and into the next phase, focused on farming, contracting and family life.

No fuss.

Just the satisfaction of a job well done.