Water polo: NZ make winning start at youth championships

New Zealand gets in the spirit before first game.

The New Zealand Youth Women's team have made a winning start to the FINA World Women's Youth Water Polo Championships last night in Auckland.

The hosts began the tournament with a 21-5 victory over South Africa.

The team of 13 kicked off the World Championships with a vengeance, showing fierce determination and scoring the first four goals within the initial quarter.

Standout player Nadia Pavlovich scored four goals and was amazed at the support shown to the New Zealand team.

"We've been doing really well in training games so we're happy to get it all going today. We're looking forward to tomorrow's game against Spain but we know we need to pick up the intensity, pick up the passing and our finishing."

Coach Davor Carevic is extremely proud of his side and says this first game has really set the scene for what can be expected from New Zealand.

"Our girls were stand outs tonight. They showed real grit and teamwork - they have some tough games ahead but I believe our team showed what they are really made of."

New Zealand had a strong counterattack throughout the entire game leaving Kiwi goalkeeper Antonia Young with little need to defend her goal.

The preliminary round runs through until Thursday with the quarterfinal being played on Friday, semi-final on Saturday and final on Sunday 12 December.

New Zealand is back in action tonight with their second game being played against Spain.