The South African men’s hockey team suffered another embarrassing defeat at the Rabobank Field Hockey World Cup, as they were convincingly swept aside by a rampant New Zealand side in The Hague on Tuesday.

A hat-trick from Andy Hayward helped the ‘Black Sticks’ to a 5-0 win as they moved to the top of Pool B with two wins from two, South Africa are bottom.

Following a 4-0 defeat to Germany in their opening game South Africa were eager to bounce back with a strong showing against their Southern Hemisphere rivals.

The game started in the worst possible manner for the South Africans as New Zealand took the lead through Simon Child in the fourth minute

South Africa went in search of an immediate equaliser, winning three penalty corners in quick succession, but they failed to convert any and were punished as Hayward netted a quick-fire brace to make it 3-0 at the break.

It went from bad to worse for the South Africans after the interval as Shea Mcaleese scored in his 200th appearance, before Hayward completed his brace from another deadly penalty-corner.