New Zealand 65
England 26
KEY POINTS:
The Silver Ferns buried the demons of last year's shock loss to England with a stunning 39-goal demolition of the tourists in last night's opening test in Auckland.
England came to New Zealand off a demoralising 2-0 series loss to Australia across the Tasman. They had hoped their
fortunes would change here but last night's loss proved they have a lot of work to do if they are to ensure they don't go home empty-handed.
The Ferns' win was built on the back of some stifling through-court defence, with the whole team doing their job to force turnovers.
Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia said her side's ruthless defensive effort was a result of the input of assistant coach Waimarama Taumaunu.
"Having Wai there has been awesome. I think we're all relishing having her around and I think it showed out on court how much hard work we've been putting in," said Tutaia.
"I think we just have all been really focusing on our strengths instead of our weaknesses, which has really helped."
England coach Australian Sue Hawkins said her team "got smacked".
"I think we need to have a good look at what we did in that last quarter [when] we got some links happening and at least our shooters went to the post.
"It is tough out there. The Silver Ferns certainly stepped up.
"Defensively, through the middle of the court, they really put that zone on and we need to have a look at it and start penetrating."
However, Ferns coach Ruth Aitken felt England would be an improved side for the next test in Dunedin tomorrow night.
New Zealand looked a lot more settled in their attack end, with Irene van Dyk reverting to her more familiar role of goal-shoot after a brief jaunt at goal-attack in her previous two hit-outs against Australia.
With her finding space under the post and Tutaia playing a strong feeding role, the shooting end seemed to have a much better flow about it, with the English reduced to spectators at times as the Ferns' attack raced to a 30-12 lead at halftime.
But England were hamstrung defensively without the talent and experience of star defender Geva Mentor, who was a late withdrawal with an ankle injury.
Mentor has formed a very effective partnership with Sonia Mkoloma - the duo impressive in their most recent outing in Australia.
Mkoloma, who moved back to goal-keep in Mentor's absence, had a strong impact for England last night as always, but her defensive partner Ama Agbeze looked lost at times.
The English hoped the return of frontline shooter Pamela Cookey would add some much-needed confidence to their shooting end, which under-performed in Australia.
And Cookey made an almost immediate impact, taking an intercept off the Silver Ferns' opening centre pass.
But as was to become the story of the match, the English were unable to capitalise, with a miscommunication in their attack end handing possession back the way of the Ferns.
These sorts of mistakes saw England's first three possessions go unconverted, allowing the Ferns to race out to a 5-0 lead.
The English appeared to settle as the quarter wore on, but were never really comfortable, as they struggled to adjust to the Ferns' stifling zone defence.
Though the Ferns held a convincing 16-7 lead at the first break, they weren't without shaky periods of their own.
New Zealand appeared to really put their foot down in the second spell, finding a strong rhythm on attack to double their lead at halftime.
In control at halftime, coach Aitken tried a few new combinations, with Daneka Wipiiti coming on at goal-shoot and van Dyk moving out to goal-attack for the remainder of the match.
While the combination wasn't as slick as it could have been, the pair worked well together, with their exceptional height ensuring there was no let-up for the visitors.
