The New Zealand men's and women's teams won their opening encounters against England on the opening night of the Southern Cross Trophy series at Auckland's Millennium Pool yesterday.
In the first ever women's match between the two countries, New Zealand ran out comfortable 15-8 winners while the men's turned around a disappointing loss to England at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth championships to win 13-7.
The New Zealand Women, ranked third in the Commonwealth, were dominant throughout, going out to a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter before extending it to 9-2 at halftime.
England had the better of the first half in the men's match, taking a 2-0 lead early in the game and turning it into a 5-4 halftime advantage.
The hosts netted nine goals in the second half to England's two, showing the benefits of fitness work over the past week.
The teams meet again during the week for more matches in the series.
- NZPA
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