Working with positive people – in the saleyards and on the sports field

Paul Mitchell has managed to combine livestock and rugby through most of his life. His first job out of school in 1983 was in the Te Kūiti Wrightsons store. However, he was a casualty of one of the stock and station mergers that happened soon after.

“Wrightsons merged with Dalgety, and four young King Country fellas were made redundant. I was one of them.”

Paul wasn’t down for long though, and the start of professional rugby was the ideal opportunity for a career switch when he became a foundation member of the Chiefs; subsequently playing 50 games of Super Rugby over the next six years, including two seasons with the Blues.

When his professional sporting career came to an end in 2000, agriculture beckoned again, and he came back to the company, which in the meantime had evolved into PGG Wrightson. Paul was initially employed to manage the Piopio store and serve as technical field rep, taking on his current role as King Country livestock representative in 2002.

He sees strong parallels between his professional sporting career and his service to local farmers.

“Teamwork is one crucial factor that the two professions have in common. It’s a team thing. When you’re out there with your clients, getting the best money you can for their store lambs or prime stock, you are a part of their team. You have to make a transaction work for all parties and those relationships are huge, no different from a sports team.

“Even more so, along with all our PGG Wrightson Livestock representatives, 14 of us in the King Country, we all work together as one team, doing the best we can for our own and each others’ clients, trying to sell stock on the day for all of them. While we are all individuals driving round the district, we know we need to all come together, on the same path, heading in the same direction, to achieve what we want for the company, for ourselves, and for our clients.

“Equally as important as teamwork, whether you are in the saleyard or on the rugby paddock, is planning and goal setting. We all have targets to meet. Putting a good plan together; doing your homework; setting those goals, though not too high because you can crash too quick; discipline; time management; chipping away at it and staying focused until you get there, that is also so important both in professional sport and to help farmers buy and sell livestock,” he says.

Paul’s career in top-level rugby included two All Blacks trials and the record for the most appearances for King Country, with 147 matches between 1988 and 2001, glory days when the province made it to NPC Division One for the first time ever, holding their place for six seasons. His rugby has continued well beyond his playing days, especially at his local Waitete Club, where he has coached numerous teams and served as president, while also being one of the driving forces keeping the Maniapoto sub-union going.

Paul’s service was recently recognised with the award of life membership of the King Country Rugby Union.

Paul’s wife Shelley also played representative netball and basketball, and the sporting genes didn’t stop there, with the couple’s daughter Tyler winning a contract with Otago-based Southern Hoiho in the inaugural season of Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa, New Zealand’s first women’s professional basketball league.

Whether in sport or agriculture, Paul’s motivation is consistent.

“I love working with positive people. This job gives me that privilege, both with my colleagues and my clients. It’s a real pleasure,” he says.