Wales lose Netball World Cup opener

Wales lost their opening game of the Netball World Cup against hosts South Africa.

After reaching the finals for the first time since 2015 having gone unbeaten in their five European qualifiers, they got off to a slow start in Cape Town.

Slipping 18-9 down after the first period, South Africa closed out a 61-50 Group C win in front of a sell-out 5,000 crowd.

England kicked off their campaign by thrashing Barbados after opening up a 20-8 lead in the first quarter and recorded a one-sided 90-29 victory that underlines their status as favourites in Group B, where Scotland were edged out 55-49 by Malawi.

Scotland led 41-35 but faded badly in the final quarter as Malawi joined England on two points after the first round of fixtures in the pool. England and Malawi face each other on Saturday.

Defending champions New Zealand began their campaign by thumping Trinidad and Tobago 76-27 in Group D, while Australia – runners-up in Liverpool four years ago – defeated Zimbabwe 86-30 in Group A.