Commonwealth Games: England women hit 12 past Ghana as Wales men beat Canada

England women thrashed Ghana 12-0 in their Commonwealth Games hockey Pool A opener while Wales men beat Canada 5-1.

Hat-tricks from Hannah Martin and Grace Balsdon helped England hammer the side ranked 25 places below them.

Anna Toman, Giselle Ansley and Holly Hunt were also on target in the first half with Tess Howard, Lily Owsley and Laura Unsworth netting after the break.

Earlier, Gareth Furlong scored four times as Wales cruised past Canada in their opener in Pool A.

Defender Furlong scored a first-quarter hat-trick of drag flicks, with Gareth Griffiths adding another at the end of the third quarter at the University of Birmingham hockey centre.

Furlong netted his fourth from a penalty corner in the closing stages, before Canada's Matthew Sarmento scored a late consolation strike.

However, there was defeat for Wales women as they met India - who they earned a memorable win over at the 2018 Games.

There no repeat as India, who are the fourth highest-ranked team, recorded a 3-1 win in Pool A.

In Pool B, Scotland put up stern resistance against 2018 gold medallists New Zealand but were unable to avoid a 1-0 defeat.

The Scots were aiming to back up their opening win over South Africa and have an outside chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Australia are the most likely to join New Zealand in the last four, showing their credentials by beating Kenya 8-0.

Elsewhere, South Africa's men's team drew 2-2 with Pakistan in Pool A.

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