Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - South Sydney scored an upset 16-10 win over Penrith in Townsville in the National Rugby Legue play-offs.

Fill-in fullback Blake Taaffe had the final say to set up a decisive try and help the Rabbitohs advance to their fourth consecutive preliminary final.

In his second match replacing Latrell Mitchell at fullback and just his sixth career game, Taaffe broke a 10-10 deadlock with a try assist for Jaxson Paulo just after half-time.

Souths will next play the Roosters, who beat Gold Coast 25-24, while the Panthers will play the winner of Sunday's elimination game between Parramatta and Newcastle.

For the Roosters Sam Walker kicked the match winning field goal.

Walker replaced halfback Lachlan Lam after Gold Coast prop Jarrod Wallace crossed to level the scores at 24-24 and landed a 78th minute field goal to end the Titans' season and set up a clash with Manly next weekend.

Verstappen takes pole at Italian GP

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix and surged five points clear of Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One championship after the sprint qualifying race.

Hamilton's Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas won the 18 lap race around the fastest track on the calendar but engine penalties sent the Finn to the back of the grid for Sunday's main event at Monza.

While Verstappen is perfectly placed for an eighth win in 14 races, seven-times world champion Hamilton will start fourth and with the championship gap in danger of dropping into double figures.

McLaren's Australian Daniel Ricciardo will join the Dutch 23-year-old on the front row for the first time since Mexico 2018 when the pair were team mates at Red Bull.

Bottas took three championship points, Verstappen two and Ricciardo one in an experimental race format being trialled for only the second time after a debut at Silverstone in July.

Champions Mercedes had planned to impose team orders for their drivers to swap places during the race and maximise Hamilton's points haul but that opportunity never materialised.

Hamilton dropped four places at the start and only reclaimed one when AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, last year's surprise winner at the Italian team's home race, hit the back of Ricciardo's McLaren at the first chicane and crashed out.

That brought out the safety car until the end of lap three and Hamilton was unable to get close enough to Norris after that to attempt an overtake.

-Reuters

Good start for Burling's team

The New Zealand SailGP team is in second place after the first day of racing in Saint-Tropez, France.

Peter Burling's crew finished fourth, third and third in the three fleet races today.

The United States, skippered by Jimmy Spithill, scored two wins in light winds to be top of the standings, while Spain are third.

New Zealand came into this fifth round of the series in fifth place overall, while championship leaders Australia struggled on the French Riviera and are last after the first day of racing.

"I wouldn't say we had a consistent day; we gave ourselves plenty of opportunities but made a lot of mistakes as well. It would be much better to have more points on the scoreboard," said Burling.

"We are really excited by the challenges, we just haven't had much time as a group, but we feel like we are doing a really good job of learning and improving."

There are another two fleet races tomorrow before the top three final race.

Bagnaia claims pole in Spain

Francesco Bagnaia claimed his second pole of the season after setting a lap record at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain, edging team mate Jack Miller in a Ducati one-two.

The pair were joined on the front row by world championship leader Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha while his closest challenger, Joan Mir of Suzuki, could only finish seventh fastest.

Honda's Marc Marquez, looking to win at the track for a sixth time, set the early pace but starts fourth on the grid -- his best qualifying result of the season.

The 2021 MotoGP season will have a total of 18 races and no more events will be added after organisers said the Argentine Grand Prix had been cancelled for a second year running due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The race in Argentina was initially postponed until the final quarter of 2021 but now joins the Grands Prix in Australia, Thailand, Japan and Finland on the list of events cancelled this year due to travel restrictions.

Misano, which is set to host a Grand Prix from Sept. 17-19, will stage a second one from Oct. 22-24 that will be called the "Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix".

-Reuters

Nadal recovering

Rafa Nadal is recovering at home after receiving treatment in Barcelona for the foot problem that forced him to cut short his 2021 campaign.

The 20-times major winner suffered with back issues at the start of the season before pulling out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.

Nadal announced last month ahead of the U.S. Open that the recurring foot injury would not allow him to compete for the rest of year.

In an Instagram post the 35-year-old Spaniard, ranked fifth in the world, said he had completed his treatment. A source close to Nadal's team said the left-handed player did not undergo surgery.

"I can tell you I was in Barcelona with my team and medical team to have a treatment to my foot which will need a few days of rest and some weeks out of action," he said.

Nadal, who was diagnosed with the foot problem in 2005, said he was trying a different type of treatment this time to try to fix the issue so he can continue his career for a few more years.

-Reuters

Pele remains in IC

Brazilian football legend Pele remains in intensive care but is making a satisfactory recovery after having surgery for a suspected colon tumour.

The 80-year-old is being treated at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo.

His medical team said that he was "conscious, conversing actively and is maintaining normal vital signs".

"With each passing day I feel a little better," the three-time World Cup winner, who has had a number of recent health issues, said via Instagram.