Sports quiz of the week: Six Nations, Lewis Hamilton and Aryna Sabalenka

1. The Six Nations is back, kicking off with France v Ireland in Paris on Friday night. Who were the last team other than these two to win the grand slam?

   1. England

   2. Italy

   3. Scotland

   4. Wales

2. Last weekend, Matthieu Pavon became the first Frenchman since 1907 to do what?

   1. Carry the Olympic torch on home soil

   2. Sign for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao

   3. Win a PGA Tour men’s golf event

   4. Free climb the Eiffel Tower

3. ‘I told those guys, this may have been our only shot’ – who said this after a painful defeat?

   1. Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds

   2. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell

   3. Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins

   4. France rugby head coach Fabien Galthié

4. 

   Roberto Mancini was criticised by the Saudi FA for his ‘completely unacceptable’ actions at the Asian Cup this week. What did the national team manager do?

   1. Walked down the tunnel before his team’s penalty shootout against South Korea was over

   2. Backed Japan to win the tournament in his weekly Corriere della Sport column

   3. Made his players train in Azzurri blue shirts, to ‘feel like true champions’

   4. Placed his suit jacket over the VAR monitor in protest, earning a touchline ban

5. Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton is reportedly set to join Ferrari in a shock F1 move. Who was the last Ferrari driver to win the driver’s championship?

   1. Michael Schumacher

   2. Sebastian Vettel

   3. Kimi Räikkönen

   4. Fernando Alonso

6. Which of these European giants are the only ones to reach the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals this year?

   1. Bayern Munich

   2. Paris Saint-Germain

   3. Real Madrid

   4. Roma

7. Shamar Joseph took seven wickets to lead a dramatic West Indies win at the Gabba in the second Test of their series. When was the Windies’ previous Test victory in Australia?

   1. 1977

   2. 1987

   3. 1997

   4. 2007

8. 

   Where in the world was this picture taken?

   1. Aspen, Colorado

   2. Gangwon, South Korea

   3. St Moritz, Switzerland

   4. Whistler, Canada

9. Sixth-tier Maidstone United have made a historic FA cup run into the fifth round. The Stones are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, but who are second lowest?

   1. Blackburn Rovers

   2. Bristol City

   3. Plymouth Argyle

   4. Sheffield Wednesday

10. Aryna Sabalenka proved unstoppable as she defended her Australian Open title without dropping a set. Who was the last woman to retain the trophy in Melbourne?

    1. Victoria Azarenka

    2. Ash Barty

    3. Naomi Osaka

    4. Serena Williams

11. Who said it: ‘I just want to be a fighter and throw some punches back … hopefully they can put a bit more respect on my name.’

    1. Aryna Sabalenka

    2. Michael van Gerwen

    3. Rob Edwards

    4. Tom Hartley

12. 

    Jannik Sinner won his first grand slam title with a dramatic comeback in the Australian Open final against Daniil Medvedev – becoming the first Italian major winner since …

    1. Matteo Berrettini

    2. Adriano Panatta

    3. Flavia Pannetta

    4. Francesca Schiavone

13. Jonathan Lourimi won which Mediterranean country’s first-ever medal at the Youth Winter Olympics with silver in the monobob event?

    1. Cyprus

    2. Malta

    3. Morocco

    4. Tunisia

14. In the Premier League, Brentford’s Neal Maupay copied James Maddison’s goal celebration after scoring against Spurs. What is it?

    1. Standing on one leg

    2. Throwing an imaginary dart

    3. Cupping ears to the crowd

    4. Eating an imaginary roast dinner

15. Finally, who said ‘my job – and it’s not the most easy – is to pull myself together’?

    1. Andy Farrell

    2. George Elokobi

    3. Jürgen Klopp

    4. Travis Kelce

Story continues

Solutions

1:D – Wales won the grand slam in 2019, and took the title in 2021. England’s last slam was in 2016; Scotland’s was in 1990 before Italy – who have never won the tournament – joined the Five Nations., 2:C – Pavon’s win at the Farmers Insurance Open made him the first French golfer to win on the tour since Arnaud Massy in 1907. ‘I still can’t believe it. It is big for our country,’ the 31-year-old said afterwards., 3:B – Campbell saw his Lions side let slip a 24-7 halftime lead as they lost 34-31 to the San Francisco 49ers, who advanced to the Super Bowl. ‘It’s gonna be twice as hard to get back to this point next year,’ Campbell added. ‘That’s the reality’., 4:A – ‘The coach’s exit is completely unacceptable, and we will discuss with him why this happened,’ said the Saudi FA president after Mancini headed down the tunnel before Hwang Hee-chan converted the winning spot-kick., 5:C – All four men have won a world title and driven for the Scuderia, but only Schumacher (2000-04) and Räikkönen (2007) won it with Ferrari., 6:B – PSG and Ajax progressed in a dramatic Group C finale; PSG earned a late draw with Bayern while Ajax fought back to beat Roma on a night where all four teams could have qualified. As for Real Madrid, they crashed out with one point from six games in Group D., 7:C – The tourists’ eight-run triumph was their first in Australia since a 10-wicket win at Perth in February 1997 – and was also the Windies’ first-ever victory in a men’s day-night Test match., 8:C – The Youth Winter Olympics have been taking place in Gangwon province this week – but this picture is from the FIS World Cup which took place in the Swiss Alps., 9:D – If they win their replay with Coventry, the Owls – currently 23rd in the Championship – will host Maidstone next. There are no third, fourth or fifth tier sides left in the competition., 10:A – Azarenka, who like Sabalenka was born in Minsk, won the title in 2012 and 2013. Barty won her home event once (2022), Osaka twice (2019 and 2021), while seven-time champion Williams only defended it once, in 2010., 11:D – The England spinner silenced his critics with a match-winning seven-wicket haul after a tough start in the first Test against India., 12:C – Pannetta beat her compatriot, Roberta Vinci, in a memorable 2015 US Open final after the pair had eliminated Simona Halep and Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Adriano Panatta was the last man to win a grand slam before Sinner, at the 1976 French Open., 13:D – ‘It’s history, my friend,’ said Lourimi, one of three athletes sent to the Games by the North African nation. Tunisia have never participated in the Winter Olympics, but perhaps Lourimi can change that in 2026., 14:B – The moment clearly riled Maddison and his Spurs teammates, with Brennan Johnson and Richarlison bringing out the celebration after scoring. ‘He hasn’t scored enough goals to have his own celebration,’ Maddison said of Maupay after the game., 15:C – Klopp admitted to feeling emotional after the Liverpool crowd sang his name repeatedly during the 5-2 FA Cup win over Norwich – his first game at Anfield since announcing his departure at the end of the season.

Scores

1. 15 and above.

   Sporting perfection! Have a great weekend

2. 12 and above.

   That’s a brilliant effort. Enjoy your weekend

3. 0 and above.

   Hard luck. Have a good weekend

4. 7 and above.

   Well played! Enjoy your weekend