The South African women were beaten 4-0 by England at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in the Netherlands, while the men went down 3-1 to Spain after conceding three times in a disappointing first half.

For the women, a difficult opening quarter proved costly against a highly rated England side. Darcy Bourne opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Tess Howard doubled England’s advantage just three minutes later.

Taheera Augousti. Photo: Jan van Zyl

The quick-fire goals gave England control, but the African champions refused to roll over and continued to work for openings despite the pressure.

England’s experience and clinical finishing, however, proved decisive. Just when South Africa appeared to be heading into half-time only two goals down, Lizzie Neal struck in the 30th minute to make it 3-0.

Olivia Hamilton added England’s fourth in the 41st minute, effectively putting the result beyond doubt.

South Africa nevertheless showed plenty of fight in the closing stages, limiting further damage and competing until the final hooter. The result was a harsh introduction to the demands of World Cup hockey, where mistakes and missed opportunities are often punished ruthlessly.

The women will have little time to dwell on the defeat, with their next Pool D match against India on Tuesday (18/8), followed by their final pool encounter against China on Wednesday (20/8). 

The men endured a similarly frustrating start against Spain, although their second-half response offered some encouragement in Belgium.

The match was a landmark occasion for captain Dayaan Cassiem, who earned his 99th international cap and moved to within one appearance of reaching the 100-cap milestone for South Africa.

Spain struck in the 12th minute in controversial circumstances, with South Africa unable to refer the decision after the first touch in the build-up appeared to have been played with the reverse side of the stick outside the 25.

Before South Africa could settle, Basterra struck again a minute later to make it 2-0.

Calvin Davis. Photo: Jan van Zyl

Basterra added his second in the 28th minute as Spain took a commanding 3-0 lead into half-time.

South Africa returned after the interval with renewed purpose and began to put the Spanish defence under sustained pressure.

The South Africans created several opportunities and earned penalty corners, but were unable to convert their early chances.

Their persistence eventually paid off in the 45th minute when Mustapha Cassiem produced a superb penalty-corner drag flick, finding the top corner with pinpoint accuracy.

At 3-1, South Africa had a glimmer of hope heading into the final quarter and continued to push for a second goal.

The opportunities came, but the finishing touch was missing and Spain held firm to secure the victory.

Damian Knott. Photo: Jan van Zyl

While the opening results leave both South African sides with work to do, there were contrasting positives to take from the performances. The women will need to tighten up defensively and make better use of their opportunities, while the men can draw confidence from a much-improved second half against one of the world’s leading hockey nations.

With the pool stages still to play out, neither campaign is beyond repair. The immediate challenge is to regroup quickly, learn from the opening setbacks and produce a response in the next round of matches.

 OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg