New South Wales student Julie Towers scored her first international hat-trick, and the first of the ninth World Cup, as holders and Olympic champions Australia cruised to a 7-1 victory over China in Utrecht yesterday.

Australia's second big win ensured they head group A. Germany are also on six points but have an inferior goal difference from their first two games after defeating South Africa 4-3.

In the day's other women's match, the United States, bronze medallists at the last World Cup in Dublin in 1994, gained their first points by holding on to beat Scotland 2-1.

Germany took an important step towards a semi-final place by beating South Africa but the victory was at a price. Two minutes from the end, Britta Becker, one of the world's outstanding players, broke her thumb. Six of the goals came in the first half with Natascha Keller scoring her second goal to settle the issue.

In the men's competition, a ha-trick by captain Stephan Veen inspired the Netherlands to a 5-0 thrashing of India - further humiliation for the once dominant nation in the sport after the 4-1 defeat inflicted on them by Germany on Thursday.

Apart from Veen's hat-trick, which delighted the capacity 15,000 crowd, Teun de Nooijer and Remco van Wijk also scored in the Pool A clash to set up a mouth watering clash with Germany next Tuesday.

Germany beat New Zealand 3-0, rocking the Kiwis with a goal after just 20 seconds when their star forward Oliver Domke rattled the ball home following Klaus Michler's defence splitting pass. The 22year-old Domke, added his second with a stunning reverse sweep late in the second half. Jan-Peter Tewes was the other marksman.