Rugby: Top teams start strongly in Farah Palmer Cup

Defending champions Canterbury have made an emphatic start to their Farah Palmer Cup title defence, crushing Wellington 57-19.

The victory - which also saw them raise the JJ Stewart trophy at the end of the clash - was tight and high-scoring early on, with the teams trading tries as Canterbury led 21-14 after 30 minutes.

However, quick tries before halftime to Cindy Nelles and Lucy Anderson made that advantage 35-14 by halftime, and they extended that margin after the break, with Kendra Cocksedge finishing with a personal 22-point haul, with two tries and six conversions.

Cindy Nelles of Canterbury celebrates her try against Wellington. Photo / Photosport

Elsewhere, Auckland also started strongly, beating Waikato 41-23, despite having eight players on debut in their starting XV.

One of them, 16-year-old Patricia Maliepo, had a strong game at first five, scoring a try and adding three conversions. One of her more experienced rivals, Chelsea Alley, kept Waikato in the hunt by scoring their first 13 points, but a try before halftime gave Auckland a 22-13 buffer, and they pulled away in the second stanza to claim a comfortable win.

Auckland will host Canterbury in a top of the table clash next Sunday, while the other game yesterday saw Counties Manukau - runners-up last season - beat Bay of Plenty 37-24.

At the Tauranga Domain, it was the away side Counties who had all the momentum early, running in three tries in the opening 20 minutes to race out to a 19-0 lead.

The Volcanix could perhaps be forgiven for their struggles early, with four debutants in the starting XV, and once they warmed into the game they were more competitive, fighting back but ultimately going down 37-24.

Still, there were plenty of positives for the home side. Fullback Sapphire Tapsell was a constant threat and winger Natalie Walford was at her rampaging best on debut, including a 50m breakaway try.

The game saw a return to the blue and gold jersey for Black Ferns hooker Luka Connor, who missed all of last season through injury. She said it was a good first hit-out for the team and they would learn a lot from it.

"We know our work ons and once we did get our systems together we could really get into the game. Counties got a good start on us, which was tough. We aimed to get a good start but that was just how it rolled out there."

Connor said, despite the loss, it was good to be back playing for the Volcanix.

"It was tough watching last year, it was so good to get out there and represent the Bay. I think we have a lot of talent, a lot of raw talent, which we saw today from a few players on their first time debuting in the jersey. It's exciting to see them coming through."