Ireland are aiming to win their third successive Six Nations title. Who were the last team to win three outright titles in a row?
Wales
France
England
It has never happened before
If Ireland are to win the championship, they will have to do it without their head coach Andy Farrell. Why is he missing the Six Nations this year?
He has taken a year off to live in New York and play chess with Garry Kasparov
He is preparing to coach the Lions on tour in Australia later this year
He has taken a short-term role with the Green Bay Packers
He is taking charge of Ireland women’s team in their Six Nations tournament
The Six Nations celebrates its 25th birthday this year. Since Italy joined in 2000, which player has made the most appearances in the competition (69)?
Sergio Parisse
Alun Wyn Jones
Rory Best
Brian O’Driscoll
Jannik Sinner won another Australian Open title at the weekend. The Italian is not just a great tennis player. In which other sport did he become a national champion when he was a kid?
Skiing
Table tennis
Padel
Pole vault
Who are the only remaining unbeaten team in Europe’s top five leagues?
Liverpool in the Premier League
Atlético Madrid in La Liga
Inter in Serie A
PSG in Ligue 1
Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga
What do Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Adrien Brody, Michael Fassbender, Kate Beckinsale, Andrew Garfield and Benedict Cumberbatch have in common?
They are all starring in the forthcoming biopic about Jamie Vardy
They are performing a short play during the Super Bowl half-time show
They have all attended Como matches this season in Serie A
They've all invested in Red Bull Hollywood, a new football team in LA
In which country did 71,500 fans attend a second-tier football match last weekend?
England
Germany
Brazil
Argentina
Steve Smith hit his 10,000th run in Test cricket this week. Who holds the all-time record, with 15,921 runs?
Joe Root
Ricky Ponting
Alastair Cook
Sachin Tendulkar
Denmark have won the last three men's World Cup finals and are favourites to make it four in a row this weekend. In which sport?
Handball
Field hockey
Volleyball
Water polo
Which club set a new world transfer record when they signed Naomi Girma for $1.1m?
Barcelona
Manchester City
Chelsea
LA Galaxy
Scottie Scheffler is back on the golf course after recovering from an injury he sustained over Christmas. What happened?
He sliced his hand open while trying to roll and cut pasta with a wine glass
He fell while trying to put decorations at the top of his Christmas tree
He dressed up as Santa for his kids but had an allergic reaction to his costume
He pulled his groin while dancing at his wedding party
Teams from which two US states will contest the Super Bowl next month?
Kansas and California
Missouri and Pennsylvania
Massachusetts and Texas
New York and Maryland
Abdukodir Khusanov has become the first Uzbekistani to play in the Premier League. Players from 126 countries have appeared in the league. What is the biggest country (by population) never to have provided a Premier League player?
Thailand
Ethiopia
India
China
Neymar has left Al-Hilal after 17 months at the club. How many goals did he score for them?
One
Five
20
50
Which of these football teams has kept clean sheets in their last seven league matches?
Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich
Burnley
The Watford player Annie Rossiter was sent off this week after she had an argument with the referee about …
… whether she had to take off her wedding ring
… the length of her studs
… whether she could remove a corner flag from the pitch
… the size of her shin pads
Which footballer has earned their place in this list: Mike Newell, Andy Cole, Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford?
… Keira Walsh
… Morgan Rogers
… Angel Gomes
… Ollie Watkins
Solutions
1:D - Ireland have won the last two championships but France are the favourites this year. , 2:B - Simon Easterby, who has been part of the Ireland coaching staff for the last decade, is stepping up while Farrell is away., 3:A - Cian Healy will match Parisse’s record if he plays in all five of Ireland’s fixtures this year., 4:A - Sinner’s parents worked in a ski lodge, so he had plenty of practice. He became a national giant slalom champion when he was eight years old., 5:D - PSG have been imperious in Ligue 1 this season, winning 14 and drawing five of their 19 games so far. They've warmed up in the Champions League too., 6:C - The Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia has become something of a destination for famous faces this season., 7:B - The second division in Germany is thriving this season. Last weekend there were 71,500 fans at the Hertha Berlin v Hamburg match, 62,278 at Schalke v Nuremberg and 49,800 at Cologne v Elversberg., 8:D - Smith is the 15th batter in history to reach 10,000 Test runs, and the fourth Australian after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting., 9:A - If Denmark beat Portugal in the semi-finals they will face either France or Croatia in the final on Sunday. , 10:C - Girma is the first million-dollar footballer in the women's game. , 11:A - Scheffler, who won the Masters and Olympics last year, required surgery on his hand. “It did hurt pretty badly,” he said. “I was mad at myself because I was like ‘gosh, that’s so stupid’, but you just don’t think about it when you’re in the moment.”, 12:B - The Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri and the Philadelphia Eagles from Pennsylvania. , 13:C - The most populous country on the planet is yet to be represented in the league., 14:A - He made seven appearances, scored once and set up two assists. Not a great return for his £86m transfer fee and huge wages., 15:D - Burnley have only conceded nine goals in 29 league games this season. Despite having the best defensive record in England, they are only third in their league., 16:C - There was a puddle in the corner of the pitch, so Rossiter removed the flag to get to the ball. The referee objected to her moving the flag – and her attitude – so sent her off. “The game was probably spoiled by some officiating decisions,” said Watford manager Renée Hector., 17:B - These are the English footballers who have scored a hat-trick in the Champions League.
Scores
1 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
2 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
3 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
4 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
5 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
6 and above.
Nice work. Have a great weekend
7 and above.
Nice work. Have a great weekend
8 and above.
A great score. Well played. Have a good weekend
9 and above.
A great score. Well played. Have a good weekend
10 and above.
A great score. Well played. Have a good weekend
11 and above.
A great score. Well played. Have a good weekend
12 and above.
A great score. Well played. Have a good weekend
13 and above.
An incredible score. Well played. Have a great weekend
14 and above.
An incredible score. Well played. Have a great weekend
15 and above.
An incredible score. Well played. Have a great weekend
16 and above.
An incredible score. Well played. Have a great weekend
0 and above.
Ah well, better luck next week
17 and above.
An incredible score. Well played. Have a great weekend
