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Quiz about Rugbys Celtic League
Quiz about Rugbys Celtic League

Rugby's Celtic League Trivia Quiz


The Celtic League was a rugby union competition featuring sides from across the west of Europe. Good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by jonnowales. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
jonnowales
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
341,656
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
161
Question 1 of 10
1. The Celtic League was founded in 2001 with teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The competition expanded in 2010 upon the introduction of two teams from which country? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The Celtic League had strong competition from other leagues in the Northern Hemisphere upon its inauguration in 2001. One such league was the Top 14, the premier club rugby competition of what country? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The Irish provinces dominated the first season of the Celtic League in 2001. Which province (in which Dublin in situated), won the inaugural season? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Dan Parks is one of the few players to score over one thousand points during a Celtic League career. With much of his points coming from kicks at goal, what position did Dan Parks usually play? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The marketing and general look of the Celtic League changed in 2006 when an Irish company became a sponsor of the competition. What was the Celtic League commonly known as in the period 2006-2011? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, the Celtic Cup was run alongside the Celtic League. Did any team manage to win the league and cup double in those two seasons?


Question 7 of 10
7. The Scottish sides competing in the Celtic League haven't had the same success as their Irish and Welsh counterparts. It took eight seasons before a Scottish side finished in the top two. What area of Scotland did that team represent? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The Ospreys, a regional team from Wales, were winners of the Celtic League on multiple occasions. For many years the Ospreys used the Liberty Stadium as their home ground thus sharing it with which professional football team? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Nigel Owens, Alain Rolland and George Clancy all featured in the Celtic League in what capacity? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In 2011 the official sponsor of the Celtic League changed from an Irish cider company to an Irish bank. Due to the new sponsor, what was the Celtic League also known as for the 2011-12 season? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Celtic League was founded in 2001 with teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The competition expanded in 2010 upon the introduction of two teams from which country?

Answer: Italy

As can be seen from its name, the Celtic League was initially contested by sides from the three Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Upon the introduction of two Italian teams, Aironi and Benetton Treviso, the Celtic League became a somewhat inappropriate name for the competition.

The name lingered on but the competition was already far better known as the Magners League by the time of Italian involvement.
2. The Celtic League had strong competition from other leagues in the Northern Hemisphere upon its inauguration in 2001. One such league was the Top 14, the premier club rugby competition of what country?

Answer: France

In comparison to the very new Celtic League, France's Top 14 had already celebrated its 100th anniversary. The Top 14, instituted in 1892, was one of the oldest competitions in the world predating the modern Summer Olympic Games by four years and the Winter Olympic Games by 32 years.
3. The Irish provinces dominated the first season of the Celtic League in 2001. Which province (in which Dublin in situated), won the inaugural season?

Answer: Leinster

After getting off to a magnificent start, Leinster struggled to replicate their achievement in later years. The provincial team would have to wait another six seasons before lifting the trophy for a second time, coming second to neighbouring Ulster between the two victories.
4. Dan Parks is one of the few players to score over one thousand points during a Celtic League career. With much of his points coming from kicks at goal, what position did Dan Parks usually play?

Answer: Fly Half

Dan Parks, although born in Australia, represented Scotland in international Test matches and the Glasgow Warriors for many years. Parks mainly played in the fly half position, the player who receives the pass from the scrum half at breakdowns, rucks and mauls.

The fly half position is one of the most pressurised in rugby union, with the player having to make many of the key decisions during a match. Such decisions involve choosing whether to run with ball in hand, to pass to players down the line or to kick the ball to gain territory. With precision kicks being required in open play, the fly half usually has the best kicking skills of all the players on the team and will thus have the responsibility of kicking penalties and conversions.
5. The marketing and general look of the Celtic League changed in 2006 when an Irish company became a sponsor of the competition. What was the Celtic League commonly known as in the period 2006-2011?

Answer: Magners League

The Magners name became so strongly associated with the competition that the official name, the Celtic League, fell almost entirely out of use. When the Magners Irish Cider company's sponsorship of the league came to an end, the elegant green, black and yellow marketing colour scheme fell out of use. It was replaced by the blue, white and orange of RaboDirect, an Irish bank.
6. In the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, the Celtic Cup was run alongside the Celtic League. Did any team manage to win the league and cup double in those two seasons?

Answer: No

No team managed to achieve this double though two Irish provincial teams came close. The 2003-04 and 2004-05 Celtic Cup competitions were won by Ulster and Munster respectively but both these teams finished in second place in the league in their respective years.

Whilst the Celtic Cup was being dominated by Irish teams in the period 2003-2005, the Celtic League was won by the Scarlets and the Ospreys from Wales. The Celtic Cup competition did not continue beyond those two seasons.
7. The Scottish sides competing in the Celtic League haven't had the same success as their Irish and Welsh counterparts. It took eight seasons before a Scottish side finished in the top two. What area of Scotland did that team represent?

Answer: Edinburgh

Edinburgh became the first Scottish side to finish the season in either of the top two positions on the Celtic League table. They were beaten to the 2008-09 title by Munster, the Irish team who had previously won the competition in 2002-03.
8. The Ospreys, a regional team from Wales, were winners of the Celtic League on multiple occasions. For many years the Ospreys used the Liberty Stadium as their home ground thus sharing it with which professional football team?

Answer: Swansea City

The Ospreys were one of the four Welsh regions that regularly took part in the Celtic League, the other three being the Scarlets, the Dragons and the Blues. The Ospreys represented Neath, Swansea, Bridgend and the surrounding areas of central south Wales. They shared the Liberty Stadium with Swansea City, a professional football team that became the first Welsh side ever to compete in the Premier League.

In addition to the aforementioned Welsh regional teams, another Welsh team took part in the 2003-04 season and that was the ill-fated Celtic Warriors (they lasted one season and folded). Their home gorund was taken over by the newly formed rugby league club, Celtic Crusaders (formed in 2005).
9. Nigel Owens, Alain Rolland and George Clancy all featured in the Celtic League in what capacity?

Answer: Referee

The role of the referee is vital but the nature of the job makes it impossible to please everybody and extremely likely to please nobody. Referees are in a special group of people that include tax inspectors, traffic wardens and politicians - they are the group that people love to hate. Nigel Owens, Alain Rolland and George Clancy were amongst the best referees to regularly officiate a Celtic League match. All three had experience at international level with Alain Rolland taking charge of the final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
10. In 2011 the official sponsor of the Celtic League changed from an Irish cider company to an Irish bank. Due to the new sponsor, what was the Celtic League also known as for the 2011-12 season?

Answer: RaboDirect Pro12

The Celtic League, after being known as the Magners League for five years, became the RaboDirect Pro12 for the 2011-12 season. Whilst the latter name is not as catchy as the former, the name change brought the competition in line with other rugby union tournaments such as France's Top 14 and the Southern Hemisphere's Super XV.
Source: Author jonnowales

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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