SA men suffer heavy defeat to Australia at Hockey World Cup

The South African men's hockey team suffered a heavy World Cup defeat to Australia in Rourkela, India on Friday.

The Australians showed their class in claiming a 9-2 victory against their outclassed and less experienced opponents.

South Africa scored goals through Nqobile Ntuli and Tevin Kok but this match - and tournament - was a great learning curve.

Match statistics

There was a glimmer of hope when Ntuli's goal levelled matters early on. An aerial ball from Dayaan Cassiem found Ntuli in space and he fired home with a cover drive that would be appreciated in the current SA20 cricket event.

With Australia leading 9-1 near the end, the South Africans finished strong with a rocket from Kok. He picked up an overhead from Cassiem and smashed it into the roof of the net.

[FIH Hockey Mens World Cup]The Australians showed their class as they secured their spot in the Quarter Finals. For South Africa a stark reminder of the work ahead as we bridge the gap to the best. https://t.co/MaZ7EFBeR5Well done @Kookaburras and good luck for the QF's pic.twitter.com/zByBJTb9oT

In their earlier pool games, South Africa lost 1-0 to Argentina and 2-1 to France.

All eyes will now turn to the playoffs as the SA men look to finish as high as possible.