Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Queenstown snowboarder Tiarn Collins has won the Slopestyle World Cup for a second time.

The 22-year-old is in the top spot on the World Cup leader board with just one event to go for the 2021/22 season in Switzerland next weekend.

The course in Spindleruv Mlyn, in the Czech Republic, had one rail feature at the top of the course and a second rail feature inserted halfway down between jumps.

Qualifying through to the finals second in his heat, Collins knew he would have to give it everything to land atop the podium in the 16-man final.

Sitting in sixth dropping into his second and final run Collins laced together a technical run that he executed to near perfection. The judges rewarded him with a 90.25, the only score in the 90s handed out today.

Sweden's William Mathisen was second and USA's Luke Winkelmann rounded out the podium.

Stars off the mark while Pulse bounce back

The Northern Stars have won their first game of the ANZ Premiership, defeating the Mainland Tactix in Christchurch this afternoon.

The Stars trailed by 5 after the first quarter, but came back to be tied at halftime before ultimately winning the tight contest 57-52.

The Central Pulse meanwhile bounced back from their loss yesterday to the Northern Mystics to record a comprehensive 57-41 win over the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

Despite the short turn around the Pulse dominated from start to finish in Porirua, taking a 10 goal lead after the first quarter and never looking back.

Lawson podiums in F2

New Zealand driver Liam Lawson has finished the opening race of the Formula 2 season at Sakhir in third.

Trident's Richard Verschoor lead from lights out to win the 32-lap sprint race followed by Jehan Daruvala in second.

Verschoor was the last driver to be announced ahead of the new season but has become the first victor, with the Dutchman clinching a second win at this level. Overtaking the slow-starting Felipe Drugovich off-the-line, the Trident driver's win rarely looked in doubt.

Daruvala came the closest to challenging Verschoor, but the PREMA Racing driver lost time while battling with Ralph Boschung

Carlin's Lawson was the one to nick the final place on the podium from Boschung, leaving the Swiss racer to settle for fourth ahead of reverse polesitter Drugovich.

New Zealand's Marcus Armstrong was tagged by Jake Hughes and spun to a stop, which caused an early Safety Car and an end to Armstrong's race.

The first Feature Race of the season, with lights out at 11.40pm tonight.

Australia into Cricket World Cup semi-finals

Tournament favourites Australia staged a record run chase to beat India by six wickets and book a spot in the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup with a fifth win from five matches.

India, who lost the toss and were put in to bat, posted an imposing 277 for seven at Eden Park on the back of half centuries from Yastika Bhatia, skipper Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.

Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy responded with an opening stand of 121 runs, however, and captain Meg Lanning chipped in with 97 to help Australia safely to 280-4 despite a short rain interruption.

The previous highest successful chase at a Women's World Cup was the 258 Australia scored to beat Sri Lanka in the 2017 tournament in England.

The victory ensured the six-times World Cup winners will finish in the top four of the opening round standings to secure a place in the semi-finals ahead of their last two group matches against South Africa and Bangladesh.

India must now win their final group matches against the same two teams to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last four.

The White Ferns play England at Eden Park today.

-Reuters

Italy break Six Nations drought

Wing Edoardo Padovani scored a late try as Italy stunned their hosts Wales 22-21 to secure a first ever win in Cardiff and end their 36-game losing streak in the Six Nations.

A brilliant break from rookie fullback Ange Capuozzo set up the score for Padovani, and when flyhalf Paolo Garbisi kicked the conversion from in front of the posts on the final whistle, Italy had secured their magic moment that left some players in tears.

It was fully deserved, too. They bullied Wales at the breakdown and put in a stout defensive display, something that had been a weakness in recent years, to secure one of the more famous wins in their rugby history and show their continued improvement under coach Kieran Crowley.

Centre Owen Watkin and wing Josh Adams scored tries for Wales, who put in a mostly flat performance and missed the chance to celebrate 100 caps for flyhalf Dan Biggar and 150 for lock Alun Wyn Jones in the style they would have wished for.

-Reuters

Ferrari take pole in Bahrain

Charles Leclerc heralded a return to form for Italian team Ferrari by seizing pole position for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.

The Monegasque lit up the timing screens with a lap of one minute 30.558 seconds to beat world champion Max Verstappen by 0.123 seconds.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz missed out on handing Ferrari their first front-row lockout since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix by just 0.006 seconds and had to settle for third.

Ferrari have not won a race since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix but have been hyped by rivals as early favourites in Formula One's new era, featuring cars designed to radically new rules aimed at improving the racing spectacle.

Verstappen, who clinched his first title at last year's finale in Abu Dhabi, had gone fastest in the final practice session earlier in the day.

Mercedes's predictions of a difficult start to their quest for a record ninth straight title, dismissed as gamesmanship by rivals, came true.

Lewis Hamilton was more than half a second off Leclerc's pace in fifth while George Russell, in his first race as a full-time Mercedes driver, was ninth.

-Reuters

Cricket matches moved due to Pakistan political situation

Four limited-overs matches between Pakistan and Australia have been moved from Rawalpindi to Lahore, both countries' cricket boards confirmed.

Three one-day internationals (ODI) and a one-off Twenty20 international will now be staged at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore after the venue hosts the third test of a three-match series.

Pakistan's interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the matches would be played in Lahore because of the political situation in the country's capital and Rawalpindi's twin city Islamabad.

Several lawmakers from prime minister Imran Khan's ruling party withdrew their support for him on Thursday ahead of a no-confidence vote.

Both the ruling party and the opposition have called for protest sit-in rallies outside the parliament in Islamabad ahead of the voting, which analysts say has strengthened the prospect of clashes and violence.

Australia are currently on their first tour of Pakistan in 24 years. The first two tests between the teams, in Rawalpindi and Karachi, ended in draws.

-Reuters

Vanuatu withdraw from Football World Cup qualifiers

Vanuatu have pulled out of Oceania's qualification tournament for this year's World Cup finals in Qatar due to a majority of their players and staff testing positive for Covid-19, the country's football federation (VFF) said.

Vanuatu's first match of the tournament against Tahiti on 17 March was postponed due to a number of positive Covid-19 cases in their camp. Vanuatu were then scheduled to play Solomon Islands today.

Oceania, which does not have an automatic spot at the World Cup, is staging a mini-tournament in Doha to decide which team advance to an intercontinental playoff for a place at the finals.

"Vanuatu's next match day is in the next two days, and VFF do not have sufficient time to replace the players and officials ... The current circumstances are beyond their control," the governing body said in a statement.

"Under the Ministry of Public Health regulations for the State of Qatar Healthcare Protocol, the positive cases must isolate for a minimum period of seven days.

"The VFF Executive Committee is seeking the assistance of the OFC and FIFA if there is the possibility to waive the disciplinary sanctions regarding the withdrawal of the team."

The All Whites are competing at the tournament, with the winner to face the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region, which features sides from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

-Reuters

Western Force win after the siren

The Western Force secured their second win of the Super Rugby Pacific season with a dramatic two-point victory over Fijian Drua in Sydney.

Centre Bayley Kuenzle proved the hero after the siren, with his 83rd minute penalty goal after 23 phases sealing a crucial 20-18 win for the Force.

The Force braved a frantic opening to proceedings in muddy conditions to open the scoring through former All Black Jeremy Thrush.

The veteran lock powered over from a rolling maul set-piece play in the 18th minute for his 11th career Super Rugby try.

Drua fought back to curb the Force's early scoreboard pressure to register their first try of the match through winger Vinaya Habosi in the 32nd minute.

An action-packed end to the first half followed, with Selestino Ravutaumada racing over the line, but a knock-on was judged to have occurred in the build-up to deny a second Drua try.

Ollie Callan was shown a yellow card following repeated team infringements from the Force, as the siren sounded in the 40th minute and the Force lead 10-8 at halftime.

The Fijian side took the lead for the first time in the match at the 55th minute mark at 18-17.

With possession changing hands frequently, the Force pushed hard for a win and were rewarded with a penalty goal after the siren to win the game.

Nottingham Forest to remember Hillsborough Stadium victims

Nottingham Forest will leave 97 seats vacant when they host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final to honour the fans who died at the Hillsborough Stadium in April 1989 when the two sides last met in the competition.

Ninety-four Liverpool supporters were crushed to death in an over-crowded and fenced-in enclosure at the stadium in Sheffield before an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Forest.

Three other victims succumbed to their injuries, with the 97th dying last June, 32 years after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage.

The abandoned match was replayed the following month at Old Trafford, with Liverpool advancing and eventually winning the trophy.

"Never forgotten. 97 seats will be left vacant at tomorrow's match in honour of those who lost their lives at our FA Cup semi final in 1989," Forest said in a statement.

"We look forward to welcoming Liverpool FC to the City Ground."

Liverpool responded with a message saying: "Thank you for your solidarity."

-Reuters