Rugby star answers quiz question with only two of 23 letters revealed

A question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show that has aired more than 1000 episodes since 1968. Photo / Twitter.

A question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show that has aired more than 1000 episodes since 1968.

But it's questionable whether there's been a more brilliant response to a question than what former Irish rugby star Paul O'Connell provided this week.

Playing on a team with former English spinner Paul Tufnell and jockey AP McCoy, O'Connell showed the wiles which saw him become Ireland's third most-capped player.

The trio were given first opportunity to solve a Hangman-type puzzle after McCoy correctly identified Goran Ivanisevic's nationality as Croatian.

They were presented with the following 23-letter puzzle, which had just two letters revealed.

"Anything to do with sport," host Sue Barker said. "It could be a venue, a person, a team, a sporting term. Good luck - or do you want to move on."

Tuffnell wasn't confident and was ready to move on, but O'Connell had an inkling as to what the answer was - and began attempting to match what was in his head with what was on the board.

"Borussia Monchengladbach?" said O'Connell, naming the German football club.

The crowd in the studio erupted, giving O'Connell a standing ovation. But after celebrating with his team the lucky lock was a bit miffed to be only awarded two points for his expert guess.

"That's world class," former English rugby player and opposing captain Matt Dawson said.
"Now you know what I was up against when I used to play against Paul O'Connell. Not only has he got one of the greatest answers of all time on A Question of Sport, he complained about how many points it was worth."

A @QuestionofSport? Completed it, mate.
Former @Munsterrugby @IrishRugby & @lionsofficial Captain @Paul_OConnell #winning again #aGermanTeam pic.twitter.com/f9drvIYwOi

— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) October 27, 2016