| KIRWAN | One of the stars of the New Zealand team which won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 (6) |
| AUCKLAND | Which city hosted the first Rugby World Cup final? (8) |
| NEWZEALAND | Winners of the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015 * (10) |
| MICHAEL | With 24-Across: one of the stars of the new drama "The Bikeriders"...but according to the film's director, he wasn't allowed anywhere near a motorcycle since he doesn't know how to ride one |
| URUGUAY | Country which won the first football World Cup in 1930 (7) |
| DWYER | Australia's first Rugby World Cup-winning coach (5) |
| YELLOWCARD | During a 1995 game, England's Ben Clarke became the first rugby union player to be shown what? (6,4) |
| WINGS | Film which won the first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929 (5) |
| ORIGINALS | Nickname of the first fully representative New Zealand team to tour the UK and Ireland, in 1905 (9) |
| ANZAC | The British & Irish Lions will play an - - - XV - a combined Australia-New Zealand team - on their 2025 tour (5) |
| ALLBLACKS | New Zealand team |
| KIDNEY | Who was head coach of the Ireland rugby team which won the Grand Slam in 2009? (6) |
| WADKAR | Who is the captain of the Vidarbha team which won the prestigious Ranji Trophy recently? (6) |
| LATHAM | Identify the surname of the New Zealand captain who scored a century in each innings in the third Test match versus West Indies in December 2025. (6) |
| DAKOTA | ___ Johnson, one of the stars of the film Fifty Shades of Grey (6) |
| INDORE | City hosting the final ODI of the New Zealand series in January. (6) |
| BUTLER | Austin _, star of the new Second World War series Masters of the Air (6) |
| KEITEL | Harvey ___, one of the stars of the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction (6) |
| WHITES | Nickname of the New Zealand national football team (3,6) |
| ASTRAL | Resembling the stars - of the spirit world (6) |
