Team Heroes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rugby Union

Described by Andrew Webster from Sydney's Herald newspaper, in 2015, as "the best women's rugby sevens player on the planet", Charlotte has represented Australia in both Rugby Sevens and touch football. In 2016 she was a key member of the Australian team that won the inaugural gold medal in Sevens at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. She was unable to repeat that success at the 2020 Olympic Games, with her team bundled out during the quarter-finals by Fiji.

During the 2020 COVID break-out the sevens competitions were suspended, so she took to playing rugby league, joining the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership. She was presented with the Order of Australia Medal for her services to the sport.

Answer: Rugby Union

Dan is a retired rugby union player and has been described as the greatest ever five-eighth in the history of the game. At the time of his retirement he was New Zealand's highest point scorer in Test match rugby. His exploits on the world stage have also been recognised, winning the International Rugby Board Player of the Year trophy a remarkable three times - in 2005, 2012 and 2015. This equaled the record number of wins in this award, set by his countryman Richie McCaw.

Capped 112 times for his country, he was a member of two New Zealand World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015. He was named Player of the Match in the latter.

Answer: Rugby Union

When he retired from his rugby union playing days Richie McCaw was the most capped Test player in the history of the game. His tally of 148 Tests has since been surpassed. However, his list of achievements are lengthy and they include him captaining his nation in 110 of those Tests, becoming the first All-Black to represent his country in 100 Tests and becoming the first union player in history to be on the winning side in 100 Tests.

He equalled the record for the most appearances in Rugby World Cup matches, helped win two World Cups for his country and won the International Player of the Year on three separate occasions. For his performances during the period 2011-2020 he was named the International Rugby Player of the Decade.

Answer: Rugby League

As a testament to Cameron Smith's standing in the game, it is usually said, that if you support the opposition, you will hate Smith. Smith has revolutionised the hooker role and helped the sides he has played for, locally the Melbourne Storm for 15 years and the Queensland State of Origin team and, internationally for Australia, to dominate during his era.

A three time Dally M medallist as the best player in the National Rugby League (NRL), he has also won the Golden Boot as the International Rugby League Player of the Year on two occasions. Destined to be labelled as an Immortal of the game, Smith became the first player in the NRL to play 400 games and retired from the game in 2018 as the competition's highest point scorer, goal kicker and tackler.

Answer: Rugby Union

A rugby union star, Jonah was only 19 years old, in 1994, when he made his debut for the New Zealand All Blacks, making him the youngest to represent his country in the game, at the time. A year later he would be acknowledged by most as the outstanding player of the 1995 World Cup, which New Zealand lost to South Africa. His performances in that tournament, reportedly, turned him into "rugby union's biggest drawcard" and saw attendances increase whenever, wherever, he played. He scored 15 tries in only two World Cup tournaments, setting a new standard for try scoring in that event and he was inducted into the Rugby Hall of fame in 2007.

A serious kidney disease cut short his career. He retired in 2007 and passed away suddenly in 2015.

Answer: Field Hockey

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours list Kayla was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her devotion and services to the game of hockey.

A warrior for her the Black Sticks, she would compete in four Olympic Games between 2004 and 2016, three sets of Commonwealth Games and in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. She was such a dominant force for her side in the middle of her career that in 2010 she was selected in the International Hockey Federation's All-Star team and walked away with New Zealand's Player of the Year award in 2012.

In all, she represented her country on 213 occasions, winning gold medals at the Champion's Challenge tournaments in 2005 and 2009.

Answer: Field Hockey

Rechelle is one of the most decorated women in international hockey. She played a total of 279 international matches for Australia and competed at four Summer Olympic Games - 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. At three of those events she walked away with gold medals, becoming the first female hockey player to do so.

She captained her country for eight years, was selected to read the Athlete's Olympic Oath at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and, in 2018, was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to the game.

Answer: Field Hockey

When he retired, Burrows was New Zealand's most capped player and all-time leading goal scorer. He played in a whopping 353 Tests and scored 150 goals during that time.

A striker for his country, he competed in three Olympic Games, featuring as the top goal scorer at Athens in 2002, four Commonwealth Games, with his personal highlight being four goals in a game against the powerhouse Pakistan side and also four World Cups.

A likely future Hall of Famer for his country, he has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, collected a silver medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, a bronze medal at the 2010 Games in Delhi and was named New Zealand's Player of the Year in 2012.

Answer: Field Hockey

Annan was considered "deadly" in front of goal, generally acknowledged as the best goal shooter in international hockey during the 1990s. She would represent her country 228 times, scoring 166 international goals during that time. At the time of her retirement she was Australia's leading goal-scorer of all time.

In 1999 she would be named the World Hockey Player of the Year and she retired with two Olympic gold medals as part of the 1996 and 2000 winning sides.

Answer: Field Hockey

In Australia he is known as "Mr Hockey" and, across the globe, he is arguably one of the best players to have played the game. In 1987 he was inducted into Sport Australia's Hall of Fame and, in 2008, was the inaugural inductee into the Hockey Australia Hall of Fame, where he has also been labelled as a Legend of the Game.

Ric's playing career saw him represent Australia in 227 Internationals where he scored 85 goals. He was present at five Olympic Games between 1976 and 1992, carrying the flag for his country at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He also participated in four World Cups, winning two bronze medals and, in 1986, the coveted gold medal.

Upon retirement he turned to coaching the national teams. He was at the helm of the Australia Hockeyroos (the women's national team) from 1993 for 252 Internationals, winning gold at two Olympic Games and also two World Cups. He then looked after the Kookaburras (the men's national team), guiding them through 192 Internationals, winning two World Cups and a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. In all, he held a remarkable 78% win record through his coaching career.

Ric also represented Western Australia as a gritty opening batsmen at Sheffield Shield cricket and spent some time as an assistant coach with the Fremantle Dockers, an Australian Rules Football team.

Answer: Cricket

Debbie represented New Zealand cricket during four separate decades, making her debut in 1979 and retiring in 2000. She remains a giant in the sport for her country.

Despite losing the 1997 World Cup final to the Australians, Hockley was named the Player of the Final, scoring 79 runs of her team's eventual 161. She would guide her country to a win in the next edition of the tournament in 2000.

Hockley led her country in six Tests (without defeat) and 27 One Day Internationals. She would play in a total of 40 World Cup matches (a record at the time she retired) and became the first woman to play 100 International matches and score 4,000 runs. Not satisfied with her roles on the field, she would give back to the game and, in 2016, became the first female to be elected President of New Zealand Cricket.

Answer: Cricket

One of the best young cricketers of his time, Crowe was named Wisden's Cricketer of the Year at age 25. The first New Zealand batsman to score 10,000 runs in international cricket, he would spread these between Test matches (5,444 runs) and One Day Internationals (4,707 runs). A patient and graceful batsman he was New Zealand's highest run scorer in both of these formats when he retired.

One of his greatest achievements at the crease also became one of his greatest disappointments, dismissed on 299 in a Test match against Sri Lanka in 1991. Crowe developed the idea about a World Test Championships as a way of enriching the game and moving it forward. Sadly the idea did not come into fruition during his lifetime. It seems appropriate then, that when the concept did materialise, that the inaugural winner of the tournament was New Zealand.

Answer: Cricket

In Dan Liebke's 2020 book "The 50 Greatest Australian Cricketers (of the Past 50 Years)" he asks the question about whether or not you'd select a person who averaged 78 runs per innings in Test cricket and in excess of 50 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs)into your side. The answer would be an overwhelming "yes". He then poses the same question but, this time, about a bowler who averages 18 runs per wicket in Tests and 24 in ODIs and the answer would, once again, be an overwhelming "yes". He then muses about telling people that those figures belong to the same person and how he would likely end up being hit across the back of the head and being told he's off the planet.

The thing is, those figures do belong to the same person - Ellyse Perry and amongst her peers (including the men's game) there is no one else that comes close to comparing. Ellyse was only 16 years old when she was chosen to represent Australia as an international cricketer, making her the youngest to do so, either male or female. What makes her performances more astonishing is that her prowess with the bat, initially average, continued to improve to the point where she was seen as the finest female batter in the game, and her bowling abilities did not shade at all, during this time.

If that's not enough, during the first four years of her international career as a cricketer, Ellyse also represented Australia as a soccer player.

Answer: Cricket

Some of Richard Hadlee's finest qualities as a bowler were his competitiveness and patience. Add to this his unerring accuracy and the ability to swing the ball late, at pace, which made him a nightmare for opposition batsmen. Despite, seemingly, to play a lone hand for his country, he managed to dominate world cricket, becoming the first man to take 400 wickets in the Test match arena.

Hadlee is also rated as one of the game's best ever all-rounders. A fine fieldsman he was an aggressive batsman batsman who scored in excess of 3,000 runs in his 86 Test career. This included two centuries and a highest score of 151.

Answer: Cricket

A popular quiz night question is "Who was the first person to score a double century in a One Day International"? Invariably the word "person" is overlooked and people would nominate India's Sachin Tendulkar for his 200 against South Africa in 2010. So often forgotten, Belinda Clark struck 214 against Denmark some thirteen years earlier, during the 1997 World Cup.

She captained Australia from 1994 through to 2005, a feat she combined with being the chief executive of Women's Cricket Australia, and, in that time, took her country into three World Cup finals, winning the title on two occasions. She retired with averages in excess of 45 in both Test matches and One Day Internationals and was one of the first two women to be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame