The New Zealand junior squash team face a must-win tie against their transtasman foes at the World Team Championships in Poland tonight (NZT).
The eighth-seeded Kiwis will have to beat ninth seed Australia to confirm a spot in the last eight, after going down 3-0 to Egypt in the second round of pool play overnight.
With little chance of stealing a match off the powerful Egyptians, New Zealand opted to rest the team's top player, Ellie Epke. And, as expected, the title favourites swept to victory without dropping a game.
Abbie Palmer was the first up for New Zealand, giving a good account of herself against Nouran Gohar in an 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 defeat. Rebecca Barnett also played some good squash in an 11-2, 11-7, 11-4 loss to Mariam Ibrahim Metwaly, while Hayley Hughes was beaten 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 in a solid display against Habiba Mohamed.
As a result, New Zealand are level with Australia with a win and a loss in pool play, and the winner of tonight's battle will go through to the top eight as the second qualifier from Pool A behind Egypt.
