Malta smashed New Zealand 17-9 in the first match of the eight-day tournament at the Scottish city's new Sports Village thanks to an impressive display by centre forward Matthew Zammit.

England's men then beat South Africa 14-10, with forward Ciaran James' dominance ensuring the victors led by 11-5 at half time.

Although South Africa tried to catch up in the second half, England kept fighting to make sure their score was unbeatable and, indeed, it was.

Hosts Scotland took maximum points with their two wins against Wales, as the men stormed to a comfortable 20-11 victory, while the women triumphed in a much closer 10-9 game that was tied until the final moments of the last quarter until Scotland's Laura Fox scored the winning goal.

Scotland's men raced into a 6-1 lead after the first quarter and were leading 11-3 at halftime.

Scotland beat Wales in both the men's and women's opening day matches at the 2014 Commonwealth Water Polo Championships ©British Swimming


Although the Welsh tried to claw back the match, they could not stop home athlete Keith Anderson from scoring Scotland's 20th goal.

Scot James Scobie was the tournament's top goalscorer, scoring seven of his team's goals.

This year's Commonwealth Water Polo Championships, which also sees Singapore's men and Canada's women competing, is the third edition of the tournament that started in Manchester in 2002 before travelling to the Australian city of Perth in 2006.

Competition will continue until the finals, which is due to take place next Saturday (April 12).

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