Barrow Raiders centre Stargroth Amean was among the try scorers as he helped Papua New Guinea to a 27-10 win over the USA on the opening day of the inaugural Rugby League World Cup Nines at Sydney.

PNG’s first match of the competition was the final one of the day at the Bankwest Stadium and the Kumuls, who also include Amean’s fellow Raider Wartovo Puara in their squad, made light work of the Americans.

Doncaster half-back Watson Boas was another of those to cross the whitewash, but PNG still faced a tough task in qualifying for the semi-finals, as they faced big hitters Australia and New Zealand in the early hours of this morning.

Earlier in the evening, Hull utility back Jake Connor celebrated his 25th birthday with two tries in England’s 25-4 win over Wales in their opening match.

England led 17-0 at half-time in their pool B match thanks to tries from Daryl Clark, Sam Tomkins - a five-pointer, as he touched down in the bonus zone behind the posts - and Jermaine McGillvary.

Connor struck twice after the break before Mike Butt grabbed a consolation try for Wales.

England’s women also won 25-4 in their opening game against Papua New Guinea, with Castleford’s Rhiannon Marshall scoring two tries and others coming from Caitlin Beevers, captain Emily Rudge and Leah Burke.

The Cook Islands produced the result of the day in the men’s competition as they defeated the Tonga Invitational side 30-7 thanks to two tries from Kayal Iro and further scores from Reuben Rennie, Steven Masters, Aaron Teroi and Anthony Gelling.

Host Australia opened with a 25-8 win against New Zealand, as Josh Addo-Carr and David Fifita both scored two goals.