Sports quiz of the week: title winners, record breakers and coaching errors

1. England have dropped to seventh in World Rugby’s rankings after two defeats in a row, with Ireland losing top spot. Who are the new No 1 men’s side?

   1. Argentina

   2. France

   3. New Zealand

   4. South Africa

2. Coco Gauff fought back to beat China’s Zheng Qinwen in an epic WTA Finals title decider, becoming the first American to win the end-of-year event since … ?

   1. Serena Williams

   2. Venus Williams

   3. Sloane Stephens

   4. Lindsay Davenport

3. Former Wycombe and QPR manager Gareth Ainsworth has returned to the dugout with which struggling League One club?

   1. Bristol Rovers

   2. Cambridge United

   3. Leyton Orient

   4. Shrewsbury Town

4. What stopped play for half an hour in the third men’s T20 international between South Africa and India in Pretoria this week?

   1. A drone flying over Centurion Park

   2. A crocodile in the outfield

   3. A swarm of flying ants

   4. Players watched the end of the Springboks’ win over Scotland

5. ‘I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest. I think England comes before anything.’ Who said it this week?

   1. Harry Kane

   2. Jimmy Anderson

   3. Lee Carsley

   4. Steve Borthwick

6. Manchester City have lost their last four games in all competitions. Who was their manager the last time they endured such a run?

   1. Kevin Keegan

   2. Roberto Mancini

   3. Stuart Pearce

   4. Peter Reid

7. What was unusual about NFL official Shawn Hochulli’s early penalty call in the Carolina Panthers’ win over the New York Giants?

   1. It was delivered by sign language

   2. It was in the form of a haiku

   3. It was uttered in German

   4. It occurred before kick-off

8. 

   Tennis: which player is pictured in action at the ATP Finals?

   1. Alex de Minaur

   2. Carlos Alcaraz

   3. Casper Ruud

   4. Taylor Fritz

9. What record did Tyrone teenager Nick Griggs break at the weekend?

   1. Quickest time to swim the ‘North Channel’ between Northern Ireland and Scotland

   2. World’s best time for a man to complete a 5km Parkrun

   3. Youngest-ever goalscorer in the English Football League

   4. First player from island of Ireland to play in the NBA

10. Which sporting star drew crowds this week with her appearance at an LPGA pro-am golf tournament in Florida?

    1. Amanda Serrano

    2. Caitlin Clark

    3. Coco Gauff

    4. Simone Biles

11. The Football Association of Wales have approached which team about leaving the English pyramid and joining an expanded Cymru Premier division?

    1. Chester FC

    2. Merthyr Town

    3. Newport County

    4. Wrexham

12. Who said it this week? ‘I think if you’re a boxing person, it really matters that he does well because Mike Tyson is an absolute legend in sport.’

    1. Katie Taylor

    2. Tony Bellew

    3. David Haye

    4. Jake Paul

13. 

    Where in the world was this picture taken?

    1. Belgium

    2. France

    3. Netherlands

    4. Norway

14. In the NBA Cup, coach Erik Spoelstra admitted his ‘horrendous mistake’ cost his Miami defeat victory against Detroit. What did he do wrong?

    1. Tried to call a timeout when Miami had none left

    2. Miscounted the score when his team were two, not three, points up

    3. Tried to bring back a player who had ‘fouled out’ of the game

    4. Collided with an opposing player in bounds, conceding a foul

15. On this day in 2008, who scored on their Premier League debut as Manchester United beat Stoke City 5-0?

    1. Danny Welbeck

    2. Federico Macheda

    3. Owen Hargreaves

    4. Tom Cleverley

Solutions

1:D – The all-conquering Springboks are No 1, the All Blacks up to No 2 and Ireland down to No 3. France are fourth, with Argentina climbing into the top five., 2:A – Serena won it five times, the last of those being in 2014. Venus, Stephens and Jessica Pegula have lost finals in the decade between US titles., 3:D – Just over a year after being sacked by QPR, Ainsworth has been appointed by League One’s bottom club., 4:C – The pesky insects caused a delay of half an hour before South Africa resumed their innings, going on to lose by 11 runs., 5:A – The England captain has expressed concern after eight of his teammates withdrew from Nations League duty., 6:C – Back in 2006, City lost their last three games of the season and kicked off the next campaign with a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea, before scraping a goalless draw at home to Portsmouth., 7:C – The game was played at Munich’s Allianz Arena, with Hochulli continuing a tradition of delivering one penalty call in fans’ native language. His father, Ed, did the same at a 2005 game in Mexico., 8:C – It’s the world No 7, who began his campaign with victory over Alcaraz., 9:B – Griggs, who is 19 years old, ran 5km in 13 minutes and 44 seconds at Victoria Park in Belfast – where the women’s record was also set last December, by Ciara Mageean., 10:B – The WNBA basketball star played alongside Nelly Korda – and gave one fan a signed ball after hitting them with an errant tee shot., 11:B – The Martyrs are currently top of England’s Southern League Premier Division South, but the FAW are hoping to convince them to join a new 16-team Welsh top flight., 12:A – The Irish fighter is taking on Amanda Serrano on Friday, and has played down complaints about the bout being on the undercard for Tyson’s Netflix fight with Jake Paul., 13:A – Lucinda Brand is pictured navigating a tricky patch of the Cyclocross Superprestige Jaarmarktcross, held in Niel, Belgium. Home hopeful Laurens Sweeck and Dutch rider Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado won the men’s and women’s races respectively., 14:A – ‘Coach Spo’ stepped on to the court after Detroit had tied up the game with just over a second left. His incursion led to a technical foul, allowing the Pistons to win from the free-throw line., 15:A – Now at Brighton, the England forward is still going strong after 16 years and another 72 Premier League goals.

Scores

1. 11 and above.

   Back of the net! Thanks for playing and enjoy your weekend

2. 0 and above.

   Hard luck – thanks for playing and enjoy your weekend

3. 6 and above.

   A decent effort. Thanks for playing and enjoy your weekend