The Dutch, winners of nine out of the 10 World Korfball Championships, defeated New Zealand 41-5 at KZN Westville Campus Indoor Sports Centre.

It puts Holland top of Pool A, ahead of Czech Republic, who narrowly won their opening fixture, 17-14 against Catalonia at The Globe Arena.

Host South Africa got their campaign off to an inauspicious start as they were thrashed 36-4 by Portugal in Pool E.

The other match in that group saw Germany defeat Japan 37-12.

Four teams are making their tournament debuts - Ireland, Macau, New Zealand and Suriname - however, it was only the latter who earned victory on the opening day.

Suriname beat Hungary 24-12, while the other match in Pool D saw China defeat Macau 42-8.

Ireland played in the opening fixture of the tournament and scored the first goal of IKF WKC 2019, but went on to lose their Pool B match 27-14 against Chinese Taipei.

The other game in that group was a tightly contested clash between Australia and Poland, the European nation eventually triumphing 21-19.

In Pool C, Belgium beat Slovakia 34-12, before England overcame Hong Kong 30-17 in the final game of the day.

The group stage is due to continues tomorrow, with 16 of the 20 competing sides qualifying for the knockout rounds.