Welsh Feathers beat Zimbabwe 50-42 to lead series

Goal shooter Georgia Rowe won her 67th cap in Cardiff

Welsh Feathers overcame an early Zimbabwe lead to win the first of the two-game series in Cardiff.

Both teams are preparing for the inaugural Celtic Cup in Glasgow which starts on Thursday, 7 November.

Zimbabwe edged a close first quarter 11-9, with Elizabeth Mushore impressing in defence to restrict opportunities for home goal shooter Georgia Rowe.

But six minutes in to the second quarter, Wales took the lead for the first time after supplying more shooting circle chances for Rowe.

Wales' 25-23 half-time advantage was one they never lost, with the prolific Rowe contributing 15 goals in the second half.

Zimbabwe, who temporarily lost Mashore to injury, failed to reduce the deficit as Wales did enough to secure the victory.

The two sides will meet again in Cardiff for the final game of the series on Saturday.

Wales captain Bethan Dyke told BBC Sport Wales:

"It's great to get off to a winning start but we were really disappointed with that performance.

"It's not how we wanted to start but it's one from one [in the series], we'll go away and look at the footage and we will be better tomorrow [in Saturday's second match].

"A lot of things were in our control tonight, so a lot of our own errors which we will be looking to tidy up tomorrow."