Here’s a zero prep quick rugby union quiz for anyone who needs, or wants to test their rugby brain power individually, or in teams.
There are 20 topics covered with an easy, medium and hard rated question for each.
- ‘Easy‘ questions are questions I would ask my ‘half interested in rugby’ mum.
- ‘Medium‘ questions require some decent knowledge of the sport.
- ‘Hard‘ questions are for ‘rugby nuts’ only. I had to do some research to create some of these.
The answers are directly underneath the full list of questions, just scroll down the page.
Rugby Union General Knowledge Quiz
- Rules
Easy – Can you pass the ball sideways in rugby union?
Medium – Can you ever pass a ball so the ball travels forward but does not break the rules?
Hard – Can you take a mark if the ball bounces off the posts first?
- World Cup
Easy – Who kicked the winning drop goal when England won the world cup in 2003?
Medium – What stadium was the world cup final played at in 2003?
Difficult – Who was the referee for the 2003 rugby world cup final?
- Six Nations
Easy – Which team was last added to the Six Nations Championship?
Medium – Which team won the very last Five Nations Championship?
Hard – Which teams competed in the first ever four nations match?
- Team Nicknames
Easy – Which team is known as the Wallabies?
Medium – Which team is known as the ‘Brave Blossoms’?
Hard – Which team in the north of England is named after an insect?
- Greatest Games
Easy – Which teams played in what most people consider to be the greatest game of all time?
Medium – Who gave the scoring pass to Gareth Edwards in ‘that try’?
Hard – Who gave an audacious dummy in the build up to ‘that try’?
- Personalities
Easy – Which player was famously accused of having a extra marital relationship with princess Diana?
Medium – Which player famously ran into a rugby post at full speed during a Six Nations match and hates being reminded of it?
Hard – Which players appeared on ‘Celebrity Pop Idol’ in 2019?
- Points machines
Easy – Who has scored the most points in rugby union test match history?
Medium – Which 3 players share the record for the most tries in a single rugby world cup?
Hard – Which forward is highest placed on the all time try scorers list in the Guinness Premiership?
- Geography
Easy – If you were playing the Pumas away, which country would you be in?
Medium – If you were playing at the ‘cake tin’ which city would you be in?
Hard – If you were playing club rugby in a rugby ground near ‘Coogee’ beach what club would you be at?
- Tradition
Easy – How do players leave the pitch after every game of rugby?
Medium – What socks do the Barbarians rugby team traditionally play in?
Hard – What is special about the Gil Evans whistle?
- Stadiums
Easy – Which stadium is built on a cabbage patch?
Medium – What is the name of Ireland’s last national rugby stadium?
Hard – In which ground did Brian O’Driscoll score his first international hat trick?
- Kit
Easy – What colour is the Fijian national rugby shirt?
Medium – How did Clive Woodward revolutionise rugby shirts?
Hard – Which piece of rugby kit did Brian O’Driscoll claim he could not have scored a try against France in 2003 without wearing and why?
- Coaches
Easy – Who coaches England?
Medium – Who was Jonny Wilkinson’s first professional kicking coach?
Hard – How many professional teams has Eddie Jones been head coach of?
- British and Irish Lions
Easy – Which three countries do the British and Irish Lions go on tour to?
Medium – In which year did the British and Irish Lions tour South Africa returning undefeated after 22 games earning themselves the nickname of ‘the invincibles’.
Hard – Which players became known as the British and Irish Lions ‘Geography 6’ on the 2017 tour?
- Super Rugby
Easy – Which continent stages the Super Rugby competition?
Medium – Which year did Super Rugby begin?
Hard – How many appearances have the Crusaders made in the final of Super Rugby since the tournament began?
- Fly-halves
Easy – Which fly-half was nicknamed DC?
Medium – Which current fly half’s father played on the wing for Hong Kong and The Philippines?
Hard – When New Zealand beat Japan 145-17 who played fly-half for New Zealand?
- Scrum-halves
Easy – What number shirt does the scrum-half wear?
Medium – Name two scrum-halves who captained their national teams to winning a world cup.
Hard – Which current international scrum-half won a commonwealth games medal in 2006?
- Number 8s
Easy – Is a number 8 a forward or a back?
Medium – Which number 8 damaged the Calcutta Cup when they took it out on the town with them?
Hard – Who are the top two most capped number 8s in history?
- Centres
Easy – How many centres are there on a rugby team?
Medium – Who played inside centre for South Africa in the 2019 world cup final?
Hard – What is the most capped centre pairing in rugby union history?
- Wings
Easy – Which wing scored twice for South Africa in the rugby world cup final?
Medium – Which winger ran scored for the British and Irish Lions in the first test of the series in the opening minutes at the Gabba in 2001?
Hard – Which winger has scored the most tries in international rugby history?
- Props
Easy – Are props in a line-out?
Medium – Who is the most capped prop in history?
Hard – In what year did Jason Leonard play the first of his 119 games for England?
Rugby Union General Knowledge Quiz – Answers
- Basic Rules
Easy – Can you pass the ball sideways in rugby union?
Yes, you can.
Medium – Can you ever pass a ball so the ball travels forward and does not break the rules?
Yes, you can. The ball must leave the hands going backwards/sideways but the momentum of the ball can take it forwards, i.e. it seemingly floats forwards with the speed of the player’s forward movement.
Hard – Can you take a mark if the ball bounces off the posts first?
Yes, you can
- World Cup
Easy – Who kicked the winning drop goal when England won the world cup in 2003?
Jonny Wilkinson
Medium – What stadium was the world cup final played at in 2003?
Stadium Australia
Difficult – Who was the referee for the 2003 rugby world cup final?
Andre Watson
- Six Nations
Easy – Which team was last added to the Six Nations Championship?
Italy
Medium – Which team won the very last Five Nations Championship?
Scotland
Hard – Which teams competed in the first ever Home Nations Championship match which was the precursor to the Six Nations Championship?
Wales v England December 1882, England won 2-0.
- Team Nicknames
Easy – Which team is known as the Wallabies?
Australia
Medium – Which team is known as the ‘Brave Blossoms’?
Japan
Hard – Which team in the north of England is named after an insect?
Preston Grasshoppers
- Greatest Games
Easy – Which teams played in what most people consider to be the greatest game of all time?
Barbarians v New Zealand
Medium – Who gave the scoring pass to Gareth Edwards in ‘that try’?
Derek Quinnell
Hard – Who gave an audacious dummy in the build up to ‘that try’?
John Dawes, England
- Personalities
Easy – Which player was famously accused of having a extra marital relationship with Princess Diana.
Will Carling
Medium – Which player famously ran into a rugby post at full speed during a Six Nations match and hates being reminded of it?
James Haskell
Hard – Which players appeared on ‘Celebrity Pop Idol’ in 2019?
Ben Foden, Thom Evans, Levi Davis
- Points machines
Easy – Who has scored the most points in rugby union test match history?
Daniel Carter
Medium – Which 3 players share the record for the most tries in a single rugby world cup?
Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana, Julian Savea
Hard – Which forward is highest placed on the all time try scorers list in the Guinness Premiership?
Neil Back (59)
- Geography
Easy – If you were playing the Pumas away, which country would you be in?
Argentina
Medium – If you were playing at the ‘cake tin’ which city would you be in?
Wellington, New Zealand.
Hard – If you were playing club rugby in a rugby ground near ‘Coogee’ beach what club would you be at?
Randwick Rugby Club, Sydney, Australia
- Tradition
Easy – How do players leave the pitch after every game of rugby?
Players clap each other off through a tunnel.
Medium – What socks do the Barbarians rugby team traditionally play in?
They can wear any socks they wish, but they usually choose their own club socks.
Hard – What is special about the Gil Evans whistle?
The whistle was originally used by Welsh referee Gil Evans for England’s first ever clash with New Zealand at Crystal Palace in 1905 and it is still used to start each rugby world cup tournament every four years. More info here.
More here: 14 Rugby History Facts Every Rugby Fan Should Know!
- Stadiums
Easy – Which stadium is built on a cabbage patch?
Twickenham
Medium – What is the name of Ireland’s last national rugby stadium?
Lansdowne stadium
Hard – In which ground did Brian O’Driscoll score his first international hat trick?
Stade De France
- Kit
Easy – What colour is the Fijian national rugby shirt?
White
Medium – How did Clive Woodward revolutionise rugby shirts?
He had England play in skin tight jerseys with no collar that opponents could not grab on to easily.
Hard – Which piece of rugby kit did Brian O’Driscoll claim he could not have scored a try against France in 2003 without wearing and why?
According to Brian’s later tweet he would not have scored the try without the fingerless mitts/gloves:
“Guaranteed knock on if I did not have my Michael Jackson gloves on”
The try: https://youtu.be/fe5vD3OZG8s
- Coaches
Easy – Who coaches England?
Eddie Jones
Medium – Who was Jonny Wilkinson’s first professional kicking coach?
Dave Alred
Hard – How many professional teams has Eddie Jones been head coach of?
6
- British and Irish Lions
Easy – Which three countries do the British and Irish Lions go on tour to?
New Zealand, Australia, South Africa
Medium – In which year did the British and Irish Lions tour South Africa returning undefeated after 22 games earning themselves the nickname of ‘the invincibles’.
1974 tour of South Africa
Hard – Which players became known as the British and Irish Lions ‘Geography 6’ on the 2017 tour?
Kristian Dacey, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill and Gareth Davies, Finn Russell, Allan Dell
More trivia: Why Is Rugby Sometimes Called Football?
- Super Rugby
Easy – Which continent stages the Super Rugby competition?
Australasia
Medium – Which year did Super Rugby begin?
1996
Hard – How many appearances have the Crusaders made in the final of Super Rugby since the tournament began?
Canterbury Crusaders 11 titles, as of June 2022.
- Fly-halves
Easy – Which fly-half was nicknamed DC?
Dan Carter
Medium – Which current fly half’s father played on the wing for Hong Kong and The Philippines?
Marcus Smith
Hard – When New Zealand beat Japan 145-17 who played fly-half for New Zealand?
Simon Culhane
- Scrum-halves
Easy – What number shirt does the scrum-half wear?
9
Medium – Name two scrum-halves who captained their national teams to winning a world cup.
David Kirk, Nick Farr-Jones
Hard – Which current international scrum-half won a commonwealth games medal in 2006?
Danny Care
More trivia: How Far Does A Rugby Player Run?
- Number 8s
Easy – Is a number 8 a forward or a back?
A forward
Medium – Which number 8 damaged the Calcutta Cup when they took it out on the town with them?
Dean Richards with help from John Jeffrey.
Hard – Who are the top two most capped number 8s in history?
Sergio Parrise 142 caps, and Kieran Read 127 caps.
- Centres
Easy – How many centres are there on a rugby team?
2 – inside and outside centre.
Medium – Who played inside centre for South Africa in the 2019 world cup final?
Damian De Allende
Hard – What is the most capped centre pairing in rugby union history?
Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’arcy, 56 caps together.
- Wings
Easy – Which wing scored twice for South Africa in the rugby world cup final?
Cheslin Kolbe
Medium – Which winger scored for the British and Irish Lions in the first test of the series in the opening minutes at the Gabba in 2001?
Jason Robinson
Hard – Which winger has scored the most tries in international rugby history?
- Props
Easy – Are props in a line-out?
Yes
Medium – Who is the most capped prop in history?
Gethin Jenkins, 134 caps
Hard – In what year did Jason Leonard play the first of his 119 games for England?
1990 v Argentina
More trivia: 9 Reasons Rugby Players Shave Their Legs
Any comments or feedback on this rugby quiz then please do let me know in the comments section below, especially if you spot any errors! Thank you.
Featured Image
Fotografia d’una meñé de rugbi Creator:Eoin Gardiner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
