by Players of the year
1 Antoine Dupont (France, Toulouse, France sevens)
2 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
3 Pieter-Steph du Toit (SA), Ox Nché (SA), Wallace Sititi (New Zealand), Ellie Kildunne (England)
Head Coaches of the Year
1 Rassie Erasmus (South Africa)
2 Joe Schmidt (Australia)
3 Franco Smith (Glasgow Warriors)
The most memorable matches participated in
1 England 37-42 Australia – Twickenham (sorry, Allianz Stadium)
2 Bordeaux 41-42 Harlequins – Stade Chaban-Delmas
3 Leinster 22-31 Toulouse – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; Bath 26-36 Bristol – Recreation ground
The most enjoyable teams to watch
1 Toulouse
2 Bristol
3 Women of England
Rugby Ambassadors of the Year
1 Ilona Maher (United States)
2 Anthony Dupont
3 Jack Willis (Toulouse)
Annus horribilis
1 Rugby Football Federation
2 Stuart Hogg
3 Exeter Chiefs
Best anthem sung
Eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney stole the show before Ireland’s 36-0 win over Italy in February with a splendid rendition of Ireland’s Call.
Best rugby magazine
Rugby Journal.
Best rugby column
Ronan O’Gara (Irish examiner).
Rising stars to watch in 2025
Tom Willis (Saracens), Cameron Hanekom (Bulls), Guy Pepper (Bath), Henry Pollock (Northampton), Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks).
Potential British & Irish Lions Bolters
Sam Prendergast (Ireland), Tom Jordan (Scotland), Tom Rogers (Wales), Theo Dan (England).
The most tempting triple bet on rugby 2025
Toulouse will win the Champions Cup, the British and Irish Lions will beat Australia and England Women will win the Rugby World Cup.
Predicted Gallagher Premiership Champions
Saracens.
Predicted women’s rugby champions in the Premiership
Gloucester-Hartpury.
Predicted URC Champions
Leinster.
Rest in peace
Stephen Bale (rugby writer), Kevin Bowring (Wales), Alun Carter (Wales), Peter Crittle (Australia), Ronnie Dawson (Ireland), Connor Garden-Bachop (New Zealand), Sid Going (New -Zealand), Derrick Grant (Scotland), Norm Hewitt (New Zealand), Barry John (Wales), Lewis Jones (Wales), Ken Macaulay (Scotland), Courtenay Meredith (Wales), Lucien Mias (France), Derek Morgan (England), Peter Morgan (Wales), Medhi Narjissi (France U18), Tony O’Reilly (Ireland), John O’Shea (Wales), Shayne Philpott (New- Zealand), Malcolm Price (Wales), Jack Rowell (Bath/England), Donald Scott (Scotland), Andrew Titheridge (commentator), Chris Wardlow (England), JPR Williams (Wales), Tom Voyce (England).
Three wishes for 2025
1 A brilliant Women’s Rugby World Cup
2 A competitive and quality Lions series
3 A visionary new era at the RFU
Fifteen memorable quotes from 2024
“The boys call him ‘The Martian,’ like he’s not from Earth, he’s an alien. He does stuff in practice where you can’t do anything but shake your head and just wish you could do that too. The French international striker from Toulouse Emmanuel Méafou on his teammate Antoine Dupont.
“Most of the time I was at war – with opponents, with rivals, sometimes with coaches, often with myself. For most…it felt like a fight. Retired Irish flyhalf Johnny Sexton.
“Remember how you felt when someone was being bullied at school and you were just glad it wasn’t you? It was the atmosphere. Danny Care looks back at Eddie Jones’ tenure as England head coach.
“I think it’s shit or bust, to be honest. It’s either going to go one way or another… something has to give. Ellis Genge on the financial stability of professional club football.
“Watch any game on a Friday or Saturday and the demographics of people watching it…they’re mostly 50 and older. It’s about how to make the game more appealing to people who want to watch it and play it. » Newcastle director of rugby, Steve Diamondon the need to broaden the attractiveness of rugby union.
“If I were a rugby player, I would be terrified by this report. I think now is a line in the sand moment where all the fuss and bravado around the way rugby is doing needs to stop. James Haskell returns to a worrying report on the finances of rugby clubs.
“Look up ‘athlete’ in the dictionary and it doesn’t mention race, religion, sexuality or gender. What I hope is that younger people will say, “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. » If you love a sport and are good at it, go for it. Campbell Johnstonthe first All Black to come out as gay.
“I went to meet the infectious disease specialist who explained to me what my life would be like. I was told that I would suffer from chronic fatigue for the rest of my life, that I would no longer work, that I would be impotent and that they didn’t know how long I would last. These were all good things to say to a competitive asshole! » England technical coach Andrew Strawbridge recalls his life-threatening hospitalization for sepsis, which also caused him to lose sight in his right eye.
“After the Scotland game we talked as a team, coaches and players. We decided we had to be braver, claim the ball more and pass it to the outside channels because we have such dangerous players. Henry Slade on England’s tactical change in the 2024 Six Nations.
“I don’t think any of us want rugby union to change to Australian rules. I’m not sure everyone wants to see more kicking and more scrums. The head coach of England, Steve Borthwicknot a fan of refereeing crackdown on “escort” kick suit defenders.
“Without lacking humility, I would prefer Ireland, England or France.” Ronan O’Gara on his future Test coaching aspirations.
“From 17 to 21 or 22, if managed well, we have what could be a generational team. Every country has talent, but if we have the right playing structures… I’m really excited about what England have. We have a lot of talent. Executive Director of Performance in England, Conor O’Shea.
“It’s not about rugby, it’s about my ambition to achieve my dream and play in the NFL.” Louis Rees-Zammit leaving rugby to try his luck in the NFL.
“If I had said a year ago that we could play the Champions Cup in London, you would have canoed up the west coast of Africa. Don’t take all this for granted. Stormers coach, John Dobsonwants its players to make the most of their participation in northern hemisphere competitions.
“I tried once. They said six Max Boyces had already called. The big one Max Boyceasked him if he would ever get free tickets to the Welsh internationals in Cardiff.
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