Sports quiz of the week: Rugby World Cup, Ryder Cup and Evan Ferguson

South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup in 2019, Evan Ferguson and the Ryder Cup. Composite: Getty Images

1. France are strong contenders to win the Rugby World Cup on home soil. Which team won the trophy the last time France were hosts?

   1. Australia

   2. France

   3. New Zealand

   4. South Africa

2. 

   New Zealand are nicknamed the All Blacks, Australia are the Wallabies and South Africa are the Springboks. What nickname is given to Argentina?

   1. Los Lobos

   2. Los Pumas

   3. Los Locos

   4. Los Leones

3. If all goes to plan there will be 48 matches played at the competition this year. Why were three games cancelled at the previous Rugby World Cup in 2019?

   1. There was an outbreak of Covid in the Uruguay squad

   2. There was a typhoon in Japan

   3. Ticket sales were poor so the games were scrapped

   4. The temperature was too high for teams to play

4. 

   Brighton's 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson scored a hat-trick at the weekend. Who scored three hat-tricks in the Premier League when he was 18?

   1. Wayne Rooney

   2. Michael Owen

   3. Robbie Fowler

   4. Theo Walcott

5. The USA and Europe captains have picked their teams for the Ryder Cup in Italy later this month. The USA are reigning champions and favourites, but when did they last win on European soil?

   1. 2010s

   2. 2000s

   3. 1990s

   4. 1980s

6. 

   The Europe team features 12 players from nine different countries. Which of these countries does not have a player in the team?

   1. Austria

   2. Norway

   3. Italy

   4. Denmark

7. The NFL season begins this week. What can players do this year that they have not been allowed to do since the early 1970s?

   1. Play for NFL teams below the age of 18

   2. Wear the No 0 on the back of their shirts

   3. Wear white footwear

   4. Take off their shirts after scoring a touchdown

8. 

   Who gave the Lyon football team a dressing down after their 4-1 defeat to PSG at the weekend, shouting: "You’re the ones who wear the Lyon jersey. Others before you have worn it and glorified it. You don’t have the right to tarnish it”?

   1. Emmanuel Macron, the France president and Lyon fan

   2. The film director Claire Denis as she picked up an award at Cannes

   3. A fan in the crowd who shouted at the players through a megaphone

   4. Didier Deschamps, the France manager

9. Manchester United have signed the player who won the golden boot at the Women’s World Cup. Which country did she play for at the tournament?

   1. Spain

   2. Australia

   3. Japan

   4. England

10. 

    The Republic of Ireland were back in France this week, bringing to mind Thierry Henry’s infamous handball in their World Cup playoff in 2009. Who put the ball in the net after Henry handled it?

    1. Nicolas Anelka

    2. Florent Malouda

    3. William Gallas

    4. Patrice Evra

11. England face Ukraine on Saturday in a qualifier for Euro 2024. Where is the match being played?

    1. Wales

    2. Ukraine

    3. Poland

    4. Saudi Arabia

12. 

    Who was shown a red card in a qualifier against Ukraine in 2009 – making him the only goalkeeper to be sent off while playing for England?

    1. Rob Green

    2. Joe Hart

    3. Richard Wright

    4. David James

13. Why were 11,000 runners – a third of the competitors in the race – disqualified from the Mexico City marathon?

    1. They did not run the full race

    2. They failed alcohol tests at the finish line

    3. They did not finish within four hours, by which point the organisers went home

    4. They were wearing trainers that have been banned from marathons

14. 

    Ben Shelton has reached the semi-finals of the US Open. Who was the last American to win a men’s singles title at a grand slam?

    1. Pete Sampras

    2. Andre Agassi

    3. Andy Roddick

    4. James Blake

15. Which of the three promoted sides has won a game in the Premier League this season?

    1. Luton Town

    2. Sheffield United

    3. Burnley

    4. None of them

Solutions

1:D - France last hosted in 2007, when they lost in the semi-finals to England, who were then beaten by South Africa in the final., 2:B - Argentina are nicknamed the Pumas due to a mistake by a journalist – hard to imagine, right? The journalist was in a rush to publish his article and guessed, incorrectly, that the cat on their badge was a puma, when it was a jaguar. Unfortunately for him, the name stuck and the mismatch continued until April of this year when they changed their badge to feature a puma., 3:B - The matches – including England v France – were declared 0-0 draws., 4:B - Owen holds the record for the youngest hat-trick in Premier League history. He scored three goals against Sheffield Wednesday in February 1998 at the age of 18 years and 62 days. Alan Shearer hold the all-time record for the top flight – he was just 17 when he scored a hat-trick on his full Southampton debut in 1988., 5:C - In 1993. Since then Europe have won six in a row at home: Spain (1997), England (2002), Ireland (2006), Wales (2010), Scotland (2014) and France (2018)., 6:C - Italy is hosting the competition but there are no Italians playing. Europe captain Luke Donald has picked Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Sepp Straka (Austria), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark), Ludvig Åberg (Sweden), and Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose (England)., 7:B - More than 20 players have taken the new shirt number., 8:C - He continued: "Now that the transfer window is over, the squad is here. All we ask is to be by your side but you’re going to have to earn it. We love and respect this shirt. There’s only one other thing we ask: to sing your names with respect and love because we know you play with love. But we expect you guys to respect our jersey and, if we have to take our losses, to do so with our heads held high. Go Lyon.", 9:C - Hinata Miyazawa scored five goals at the tournament – including two in a 4-0 win against eventual champions Spain., 10:C - Gallas bundled the ball into the net, the referee saw nothing amiss and France went to the World Cup – where they failed to win a game. , 11:C - The game will be played in the Polish city of Wroclaw., 12:A - England lost the game 1-0 but still qualified for the World Cup the following year. Green didn’t have a great time at the tournament either., 13:A - An investigation was launched after runners were accuses of using cars, public transport and bikes to cheat., 14:C - No American has won a men's singles event since Roddick won the US Open 20 years ago., 15:D - Between them they have played 10 matches, lost nine, drawn one and won none.

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Well played. That's a great score

2. 11 and above.

   Well played. That's a sensational score. Have a great weekend

3. 12 and above.

   Well played. That's a sensational score. Have a great weekend

4. 13 and above.

   Well played. That's a sensational score. Have a great weekend

5. 14 and above.

   Well played. That's a sensational score. Have a great weekend

6. 15 and above.

   Well played. That's a sensational score. Have a great weekend

7. 9 and above.

   Well played. That's a great score

8. 8 and above.

   Nicely done. That's a good score

9. 7 and above.

   Nicely done. That's a good score

10. 6 and above.

    Nicely done. That's a good score

11. 5 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week

12. 3 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week

13. 4 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week

14. 2 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week

15. 0 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week

16. 1 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week