Ferns face England, South Africa to keep Fast5 hopes alive

New Zealand must overcome England and South Africa, if they hope to book a spot in the Fast5 netball final at Christchurch.

The 'Fast Ferns', comprising largely of fringe internationals, finished the opening day of the rugby sevens-style competition with two wins and a loss to unbeaten Australia.

A convincing 39-19 opening win over Jamaica was followed by a 40-27 result over Uganda, but the NZ women had little answer to the Aussies, who top the table heading into day two.

The Kiwis hung with their trans-Tasman rivals for most of the opening quarter, with Martina Salmon hitting a four-point powerplay goal to draw even at 9-9, but Australia responded with four-pointers to Reilley Batcheldor and Lucy Austinto opened an eight-point advantage that was never threatened.

The champion Aussies face winless Jamaica and England, and should clinch their spot in the final with victory over the 'Calypso Queens'.

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In the three-team men's draw, New Zealand toppled Australia 32-28 and must now overcome South Africa to book a return match in the final.