International sport: Overnight highlights brought to you by SleepDrops - April 15

All the sporting news that happened overnight.

Outclassed Black Sticks finish with silver

The Commonwealth Games men's hockey final proved a step too far for New Zealand as they slumped to a 2-0 loss to Australia.

Silver is still an outstanding performance within the context of the tournament.

Coming in, New Zealand were ranked ninth in the world, and fourth in this event behind Australia, India and England.

They have exceeded expectations.

Read more: Gold medal proves step too far for hockey men

SIlver Ferns to battle for bronze

Mark this down as New Zealand netball's worst Commonwealth Games.

Three losses on the Gold Coast, the latest to Australia in the semifinal, and yet the Silver Ferns somehow remain in contention for an unlikely bronze.

Even that looks a long way off after Jamaica pushed England all the way in the other semi.
Setting aside the mediocrity the Ferns fight for bronze, even that colour medal would fall well short of expectations for a team that's claimed two golds and three silver medals previously.

Losing to Australia, defending champions, is no surprise on the back of defeats to Malawi and England in pool play. But the fact a pasting is now a formality has rendered a once mighty rivalry tenuous.

Under Janine Southby, the Ferns have now lost nine of their past 11 against Australia. This was merely the latest in Southby's fast unraveling tenure – all sense says she has one game left before the SOS is sent to Noeline Taurua, if it hasn't already.

Read more: Silver Ferns crash to predictable hefty defeat to Australia at Commonwealth Games

Cowboys lose again

Johnathan Thurston insists all is not lost for North Queensland following their disastrous 27-10 NRL defeat at home to Canterbury.After five consecutive losses, the Cowboys stand second-bottom of the ladder at 1-5 and would become the first NRL team to reach the grand final from this position.

The contest was effectively over at halftime on Saturday night, with the visitors 19-0 ahead in Townsville after tries from Marcelo Montoya and Raymond Faitala-Mariner.

Thurston, who was once more a long way short of his best, believes his team can still turn things around in the last season of his storied career.

"There's a lot to work on but it's not the end of the world," Thurston said.

"It's a big challenge but I've got full confidence in the playing group and the coaching group that we can turn things around."

Tall Ferns earn bronze

The Tall Ferns coasted to a 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medal with their 74-58 defeat of Canada.

Hours after their male Tall Blacks counterparts were upset by the Canadians in their semi-final, the Ferns made no such mistake.

They raced out to an early 16-12 first-quarter lead, with Micaela Cocks dictating proceedings, and stretched their lead to eight by half-time.Their third quarter was even more dominant, as Cocks made space for Natalie Taylor to drain several three-pointers and help her side to a 57-39 advantage.

From that point, victory - and Games bronze - was a mere formality, despite a late Canadian surge to come within 10 points of New Zealand.

The 35-year-old Taylor notched 18 points by the match's end, all of which from behind the three-point line, while Cocks earned 16.

Charlisse Leger-Walker also chipped in with 18 points late on.Kalani Purcell dominated the boards for seven defensive rebounds, getting her side out of jail against Canada's tall centres, particularly Ruth Hamblin. The Kiwis made 28 defensive rebounds in total.

Another medal for King and Coll

Kiwi squash stars Joelle King and Paul Coll nabbed a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the mixed doubles. The pair, who earned gold and silver respectively in the singles stakes, were dumped out of Friday's semi-final but cruised in Saturday's play-off.

They crunched English pairing Alison Waters and Daryl Selby 11-6 11-6 in just 27 minutes, dominating from first point to last.

They'll now pick up the bronze medal - following on the 29-year-old King's mixed doubles silver medal at the 2010 New Delhi Games.

It's Coll's first squash doubles medal at the Games.

Earlier in the day, King and women's doubles partner Amanda Landers-Murphy kept themselves in the gold-medal hunt by winning their semi-final.

King and Landers-Murphy dispatched Australians Donna Urquhart and Rachael Grinham 11-9 11-5, cruising through in 20 minutes, and will be favourites against India's Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the final.

Cui fails to make a splash

Kiwi diver Elizabeth Cui has finished last in the final of the Commonwealth Games women's 3m springboard event.

Cui could only manage a score of 247.10 from her five dives on Saturday evening, her best a first-round back two-and-a-half somersault. She finished 12th in the 12-strong final field, with Canadian Jennifer Abel taking out the gold medal with a score of 366.95. She had qualified on Saturday morning in 10th position, scoring 241.20.

Waratahs go top of Aussie Conference

Taqele Naiyaravoro has powered the NSW Waratahs to the top of the Australian conference with a dominant man-of-the-match display in their historic Super Rugby showdown against the Queensland Reds.

The Reds, like most opposition teams in 2018, found Naiyaravoro unstoppable as the tearaway winger bagged another try-scoring double in the Waratahs' 37-16 bonus-point victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday night.

Naiyaravoro's brace took his tally to seven five-pointers in four games and thrust NSW into the box seat in the Australian conference at the halfway point of the competition.

With Melbourne crashing to a 25-22 home loss to the Jaguares earlier on Saturday, the Waratahs soared above the Rebels on the ladder with their fourth straight win and eighth successive victory over the Reds stretching to 2013.

Vettel takes pole in China

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, where the German will be going for his third straight victory to open the Formula One season.

Vettel and Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start on the first row in Shanghai. Mercedes, which has dominated the last four seasons, will start on the second row with Valtteri Bottas ahead of No. 4 Lewis Hamilton — the defending and four-time series champion.

Kiwi and Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley will start in 15th place.

- With AAP/AP