The Netherlands' Tim Swaen scored twice in their emphatic win against South Africa ©Getty Images

The Netherlands and India both strolled to victory in the men's International Hockey Federation (FIH) Pro League in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

India beat France 5-0 while The Netherlands thrashed South Africa 11-1.

However, the early kickoff made history for other reasons after it became the first men’s FIH international to be umpired by two female officials - Wanri Venter and Annelize Rostron.

France head coach Frederic Soyez spoke of his team’s lack of preparation prior to the match, and this was showcased after the first quarter when India came flying out of the gates with three goals before the end of the half.

Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring whilst Varun Kumar disposed of a penalty corner and Shamsher Singh hit France on the counter.

Mandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh joined the scoresheet in the third quarter to put India out of reach.

Akashdeep marked his 200th cap for his country with the player of the match award.

India captain Manpreet Singh said after the game: "We are really happy because France are a good team and we knew we couldn’t give them any opportunities.

"In the first quarter we were a bit sloppy but after that we played a good game and scored goals. With that, we grew in confidence."

The next game saw The Netherlands’ Tim Swaen break the deadlock first through a penalty shot, but the hosts’ Nqobile Ntuli equalised in the second quarter.

Despite the goal, The Netherlands, much like India, eventually broke the opposition’s resistance during this quarter of hockey.

Field goals by Thierry Brinkman and Derck de Vilder, and a penalty corner by Thijs van Dam put the Dutch 4-1 up by half-time.

The Netherlands increased their lead in the third quarter through Jorrit Croon.

Nevertheless, an incredible final quarter saw South Africa concede six goals from Tijmen Reyenga, Swaen, Brinkman, Koen Bijen and a brace by Jip Janssen.

"Today we played a really great match," player of the match van Dam said.

"We have been here 10 days already and we have trained hard and finally we can play some matches."

India sit in fourth following their one win in one game record, whilst The Netherlands are at the top of the table, one point above Belgium, after three matches.