Hockey: Big wins for Black Sticks sides

Hugo Inglis scored four goals for the men in their 37-0 win over Samoa. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand 68 Samoa 0. That's the bald scoreline from today's opening Oceania Cup hockey matches in Stratford and it leaves you wondering what exactly did the Samoans get out of the day.

Helping develop the game in the Pacific Islands is one thing, and it is a role Australia and New Zealand are obliged to fulfill. But you have to wonder what Samoa really made of the situation.

The men's Black Sticks, 16-0 up at halftime, added another 21 in the second 30 minutes.

At one point, attacker Stephen Jenness scored three goals in two minutes; Nick Wilson was credited with two goals in the 60 seconds of which made up the fifth minute.

Both finished with seven goals each, James Coughlan got five, and Hugo Inglis four.

The New Zealand women beat Samoa 31-0, with North Harbour striker Kirsten Pearce scoring six times, five in 18 minutes. Captain Anita Punt and Auckland striker Charlotte Harrison filled their boots too, with five goals apiece.

Five of the 10 women who scored got goals from penalty corners, which suggests a good range of variety and a mix of options at the key set play.

In the day's other game, Australia's world No 1 men beat Fiji 17-0, having been up 9-0 at halftime.

Australian coach Paul Gaudoin, wasn't entirely happy.

"It was great to start off with a strong win, however, we didn't play as well as we would have liked," said Gaudoin.

The point of the cup is for the men's Black Sticks to qualify for next year's Rio Olympics at their last opportunity. To do that they must beat Australia, who are already in the Games tournament.

Those teams clash today in their round robin game, which should give an insight into New Zealand's prospects in the cup final on Sunday.

There's sure to be some foxing today, equally New Zealand want to put up a strong showing, not least for their own self belief. Get dusted today and they'll face a tall order reversing that on Sunday. They did beat the Aussies in Malaysia in April, but the pressure this weekend will be far higher.

The women's Black Sticks, ranked fourth in the world, have already qualified for Rio, as have the second-ranked Australians so the Oceania tournament, in which they'll meet on Saturday and Sunday, is essentially a great opportunity for some serious competition to put towards Games preparation.

The women's Black Sticks have a day off today, with Australia playing Samoa in the only game of a truncated competition.