STUNNING fightbacks, Hakas and tries aplenty – the opening day of the PDRL World Cup in Warrington certainly did not disappoint.

A large crowd gathered at Victoria Park for the first of three days of group-stages matches in the inaugural tournament to witness two games high on quality and drama.

The opening match saw New Zealand take on Wales, with the Welsh fighting back from 26-18 down to win 28-26 thanks to tries in the final 10 minutes from Isaac Pickett and Paul Jones.

The winning try was Jones’ second of the match, with Wales’ other tries coming from Chris Young, Leif Thobroe and Dan Shaw.

Michael Kulene scored a hat-trick for the Kiwis, whose other tries were scored by Daley Manu and Kent Stroobant.

The result of the second match was much more clear-cut, with England thrashing an Australia side that included comedian, TV presenter and Warrington Wolves PDRL player Adam Hills 58-6.

England scored 52 unanswered points after Sam Zellar and Australia’s Bryce Crane had swapped early tries, with Hills’ Wire teammate Jamie Barnett scoring the hosts’ 10th and final try.

Zellar scored two tries and kicked five goals, with Nick Kennedy and Callum Parkinson also crossing for braces.

England’s other tries came from Adam Fleming, Ben Seward and Nick Leigh with Darren Dean adding four goals.

The action continues tomorrow afternoon with all four sides once again descending on Victoria Park for their second fixtures.

England take on Wales in the opening game at 2pm before Australia and New Zealand clash at 4pm.

The group stage wraps up on Friday with England vs New Zealand (4.30pm) and Wales vs Australia (7pm).

The top two sides will face off in the final at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, to be played after the men’s group stage match between Samoa and France, while the two sides who do not qualify will face each other in the third-place play-off at Victoria Park earlier on Sunday.