Sports Quiz of the Year 2015: Questions

Think you know your ‘Deflategate’ from your ‘David Cup’, where the greens were like broccoli and who the record-breakers and phrase-makers have been in the last 12 months? Paul Newman tests your knowledge of what happened in 2015 (answers at the bottom)

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TROUBLE AND STRIFE

1. Which Englishman’s headbutt cost him a place at the Rugby World Cup?

2. ... and who was told he would not be considered for selection for the Rugby World Cup after being found guilty of assaulting two police officers?

3. Who crashed his Pagani Zonda supercar, worth £1.3m, in Monte Carlo at 3.30am and claimed afterwards that he was “a bit run-down” and had not been getting much sleep?

4. What incident involving Moises Henriques and Rory Burns forced the abandonment of Surrey’s Twenty20 match against Sussex at Arundel?

5. Which team was at the centre of “Deflategate”?

6. Who was cleared of being a drugs cheat after the International Association of Athletics Federations said that “suspicious” blood values she had provided during her career had been the subject of “gross misinterpretation”?

7. Which former England cricketer was sacked in April, just 14 months after he started his new job by putting an end to Kevin Pietersen’s international career?

8. Who was vilified for comparing the death toll in the Paris terror attacks with the number of road traffic accidents?

9. Who was sacked after an investigation into accusations that he encouraged several squad members to buy shares in an oil-drilling firm which left them with potential losses of more than £100,000?

10. Which Premier League manager accused one of his own players of deliberately getting himself sent off?

IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING

1. Whose World Cup players were welcomed home with the words that they would “go back to being mothers, partners and daughters”?

2. Justin Rose said it was “like a game of outdoor bingo”, Patrick Reed called his experience on the final green “Mickey Mouse golf”, Jordan Spieth described the 18th as “the dumbest hole I’ve ever played” and Henrik Stenson said the greens were like “broccoli”. Which golf course met with such disapproval from the players?

3. Who was told he needed to understand the difference between “serious pain and only pain”?

4. Who wrote “marriage works” on a camera lens after winning his second tournament in a row since returning to competition following his wedding?

5. Who described claims that the International Association of Athletics Federations had failed to respond appropriately to allegations of widespread doping among distance runners as a “declaration of war”?

6. Which British world champion said of his team-mate: “He complains about a lot of things. But you kind of let it go over your head because that’s just the way he is. It’s kind of the different background we come from, I guess.”

7. Who tweeted his congratulations to Andy Murray and his British colleagues on winning the “David Cup”?

8. Which manager described Graeme Souness as “a frustrated man” after the Sky analyst said his players had been “pathetic” in the way they surrounded the referee prior to an opponent’s red card?

9. Who was criticised for saying that “a woman’s best place is in the kitchen and on her back”?

10. Who accused Arsenal players of being more interested in “selfies and six-packs” than winning trophies?

MAKING HISTORY

1. What was staged at night for the first time, after the previous 2,189 matches had been played only in the day?

2. Who surpassed the feats of Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie, Lasse Viren and Emil Zatopek by winning six in a row?

3. What finished on a Monday for only the second time in its 144-year history after play was disrupted by high winds?

4. In what historic competition did men and women compete on the same four-mile course for the first time?

5. Who wrote Robbie Fowler out of the Premier League record books in two minutes and 56 seconds?

6. Who became only the seventh player in the history of international cricket – and the first England player since 1951 – to be given out for obstruction?

7. Who set a record in March with eight victories in the Cotswolds?

8. How did the Princess Royal, Dame Laura Davies, Renee Powell, Belle Robertson MBE, Lally Segard, Annika Sorenstam and Louise Suggs make history?

9. Who set an England record by defying the opposition for 13 hours and 56 minutes?

10. Which American became the first golfer in history to shoot 66 or lower in the first round at three of the year’s majors – but did not win any of them?

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

1. Who scored after 79 seconds on his England debut?

2. ...and which England player scored his first goal for his country in his 28th appearance and his second only 16 minutes later?

3. Who was substituted for the first time by his then manager, for whom he was playing for the 177th time?

4. Whose proposed transfer to Oldham Athletic fell through because of what were described as “vile and abusive threats, including death threats”, to fans, sponsors and staff?

5. Which international footballer saw his club career in England end in a 3-1 home defeat followed by a 6-1 away thrashing?

6. Why was Didier Deschamps, the coach of the France football team, unable to pick Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena in the same side?

7. Who got into hot water for joining in with a chant of “We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham, we are the Tottenham haters”?

8. Who replaced Sir Bobby Charlton in the record books by reaching his half-century?

9. Who left English football after a career in which he won the European Cup, Europa League, Premier League (three times), FA Cup (four times) and League Cup (twice)?

10. Which golfer was unable to defend his title after suffering an injury while playing football?

QUOTE UNQUOTE

Who said it?

1. “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that, mate.”

2. “I asked Alberto to respond to the allegations made against him and he has now done so in full. As someone I’ve worked with for many years I feel I have to believe in Alberto and the evidence he has provided.”

3. “I don’t want to be perceived as the money-grabbing 20-year-old. I just want to be perceived as the kid who loves to play football. It’s not about the money at all. It’s never been about money.”

4. “They have used the word trust to justify not selecting me, well, trust is a two-way thing. I couldn’t believe just half an hour after I had my meeting, the result of it was on the internet and on the BBC airwaves. Now I certainly didn’t tell anybody, so who did? They say they don’t trust me but how can anybody trust them?”

5. “I knew as soon as I walked into the office and saw Stuart’s face, which was hurting, that it was not good news. I was the first player in. Obviously, Stuart wanted to get the tough one out of the way first. I’ve known Stuart for 12 or 13 years. I have huge respect for him as a bloke and for what he has achieved. I know it was a tough decision to make. But he let me down. That’s how I feel about it. It was one of the most heart-breaking things in my life.”

6. “We will chase the ball. We will run more, fight more. We will work more together, better together. We will have better organisation in defence than the other teams. We have to find our own way to play.”

7. “I’m accountable. It’s going to sit with us all for ever – players, coaches, management – but speaking personally, I don’t think I’ll ever come to terms with this because it’s such a big thing.”

8. “It may sound corny because look what I’m holding, but it’s probably my most fun golf tournament inside the ropes. Ryder Cup is the Ryder Cup. Augusta is Augusta. I get that. But I just respect and appreciate what this tournament is all about and I could go on and on about that. It’s the best.”

9. “What did he say? That I miss my mum? Who doesn’t miss their mum? I’m not afraid to say that.”

10. “I’m precious about what I associate myself with. Having been sitting on television over the last few years, it is time now to stand up.”

SO FAREWELL

They died in 2015

1. This Yorkshire cricketer’s bravery in the face of intimidatory fast bowling was legendary. It was said that when a ball hit him on the head when he was fielding at short leg he shouted: “Catch it”. He was the youngest player ever to appear for England.

2. He made his international debut in 1994 at 19 (he was the youngest player ever to represent his country) after only four first-class appearances. In 2003, a year after his final appearance, he was given a kidney transplant.

3. His voice became synonymous with his sport over more than six decades. He was born in Co Kerry, moved to England when he was six and at the age of 10 placed a bet (via a local butcher) of sixpence-each way on Tipperary Tim, which won the 1928 Grand National at 100-1. He joined the organisation with which he would always be associated in 1946.

4. For two decades he was Britain’s most celebrated Olympic equestrian competitor. He was the first British rider to win an individual Olympic title. In individual and team events he won three Olympic gold medals and five golds at the World and European Championships.

5. He was one of the driving forces in the Tottenham Hotspur team that became the first side in the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup Double. He won 22 Scotland caps and succeeded Brian Clough as manager of Derby County.

6. He made his international debut in Sydney in 1952 and captained his country 28 times. He went on to become the “voice” of his sport, beginning his commentaries every day with the words: “Morning everyone.”

7. In a 36-year career this Dubliner claimed more than 6,000 victories worldwide, including 4,633 in Britain. He passed the century mark 28 times, a British record.

8. This Frenchman became the first man in his sport for 21 years to die as a result of injuries sustained while competing.

9. At the age of 17 he became the youngest FA Cup finalist of the 20th century. He never played for England but was one of the best midfield players of his era. As a manager he won two League titles, the European Cup-Winners’ Cup and the FA Cup.

10. This Australian set 17 world records and was widely regarded as the greatest athlete never to have won an Olympic gold.

GOING GLOBAL

1. Who lost in Bosnia but on the same day ended a 57-year wait to qualify for a major tournament?

2. ...and who ended a similar 27-year wait in front of a home crowd of 12,000?

3. Why did five former All Blacks perform the Haka at the side of a road in the south of France?

4. Who has an English mother and a British passport but was named as captain of England’s historic rivals?

5. Which Spaniard’s 39-match winning run in Paris was ended by a Serb?

6. Who followed the path of Beryl Burton, Mandy Jones and Nicole Cooke with victory in Virginia?

7. Which Scot collected his first world title in London by beating the 16-times champion?

8. Who claimed in Hawaii that he had been abducted, knocked unconscious and thrown into a car boot before regaining consciousness some six miles away without his mobile phone or wallet?

9. Which French team conquered Europe for the third year in a row thanks to a Welshman’s boot?

10. Who ended a 79-year wait by winning in Belgium?

THE RETIRING SORT

They quit in 2015

1. He captained his country 110 times, made more international appearances than any player in history and finished his career with another global triumph.

2. This wicketkeeper played 79 times for his country, claimed 256 victims and scored 4,099 runs. Only two wicketkeepers scored more runs for his country, only one had more stumpings and catches, and only one had a better batting average.

3. He won 4,357 times in a 23-year career and survived fractures to both shoulder blades, collarbones, ribs, an ankle, middle and lower vertebrae, cheekbones, a wrist and a leg. He also suffered several broken noses and fingers and had teeth knocked out.

4. This 33-year-old announced her retirement at the presentation ceremony after becoming the oldest first-time winner in the modern era of one of her sport’s four big titles.

5. He played in 134 Test matches, with a batting average of 57.40, and 404 one-day internationals, in which his total of 14,234 runs was bettered only by Sachin Tendulkar. Only Don Bradman hit more double centuries in Tests.

6. He made his England debut in 1997 and went on to make 81 appearances for his country. He began and finished his club career in London but most of his time was spent in the north of England.

7. He retired after multiple head traumas during his playing career brought on epilepsy. He played for his country 67 times, won two Grand Slams and played in two World Cups.

8. He was recalled to the national team, having originally chosen to step down because of a stress-related condition, but then retired from international competition, saying his game was not at the level it needed to be.

9. He went out with his 49th win in 49 fights, equalling Rocky Marciano’s record.

10. He made 112 appearances for his country and scored more points (1,598) in international competition than any player in history.

15 MINUTES OF FAME

How did they hit headlines?

1. Paul Dunne

2. Karne Hesketh

3. Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn

4. Jon Stead, Felipe Morais, Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates

5. Dustin Brown

6. Max Verstappen

7. Roberta Vinci

8. Nicolas Sanchez

9. Alex Dowsett

10. Grant Elliott

AND 15 MINUTES OF INFAMY

1. Suzann Pettersen

2. Mariya Savinova and Ekaterina Poistogova

3. Craig Joubert

4. Wayne Odesnik

5. Jérôme Valck