2025 has begun and a year of rugby excitement awaits. With it being a World Cup year for the Women’s game and a Lions tour for the Men’s, plenty will end up happening and fans should expect the unexpected.
The Six Nations is another event to look forward to and with the domestic game in England just past the halfway stage, most of the league will still consider themselves contenders for the title.
Here are Charlie Elliott’s predictions for 2025.
Premiership Winner: Bath
Finalists of last year’s Premiership, narrowly losing to Northampton Saints, Bath are looking as if they will go one better this time round and sit top of the table by six points.
While they are beatable, as shown in the recent last-minute loss to nemesis Northampton to start off their 2025, they have shown plenty of times that they can blow away anyone when they are at their best.
Using a South African style ‘bomb squad’ esque bench led by Springbok star Thomas du Toit, it seems as if they have most tactical nous in the league with players capable of delivering it.
Winning the title is enough motivation as it is, but combined with the desire to correct the mistakes from last year means that Bath have more fire in their belly than most.
READ MORE: Will Muir’s aiming to hit the target with Bath
URC Winner: Leinster
Probably the easiest pick of these predictions, Leinster were favourites even before bringing in All Blacks stalwart Jordie Barrett.
Nine wins from nine, the Dublin side have way too much quality to compete with and could even make a feasible push for a double if they are to take the Champions Cup seriously.
With most of the Irish national team and a few quality internationals from elsewhere, it is a stacked side and anything other than a URC win would be a huge upset.
Champions Cup winner: Toulouse
There is something about Toulouse and the Champions Cup. The reigning champions of this competition and six-time winners have an aura about them that makes them hard to beat.
Two bonus point wins in the pools already put them joint top and they may be about to revolutionise the sport with Ange Capuozzo filling in at fly-half from the bench and potentially changing the way replacements may be used.
Led by Antoine Dupont, the attacking talent on display across all of their backs is one to behold. The only team that comes close to them in terms of quality is Leinster, who could end up as their biggest adversaries in this competition.
Six Nations Winner: France
It is a toss-up between France and Ireland for the Six Nations, with the recent below-par Irish Autumn Internationals meaning that many have forgotten how good they are.
France impressed, especially after beating the All Blacks and the title is theirs to lose with England and Wales struggling.
Scotland are an outside shout, but the quality of France will likely shine through, and they will be hoping to repeat their success of 2022.
British & Irish Lions Series: 2-1 Lions victory
It is never easy travelling to the Southern Hemisphere, but Australia is the weakest side out of the teams the Lions play right now.
Home advantage plays a big part in international rugby and although the Lions should be expected to win the tour, the Wallabies have the quality to make it difficult.
Joe Schmidt is doing a great job, but if the right squad is picked, the British and Irish Lions should prove to be too good for the Aussies.
3-0 seems too optimistic and a series loss seems too pessimistic, so a middle of the road 2-1 win is the logical choice.
READ MORE (NICK CAIN): My British & Irish Lions team are ready for take off
Men’s Player of the Year: Eben Etzebeth
A slightly obvious pick given the fact he narrowly missed out to Pieter-Steph du Toit and the fact South Africa are still the best team in the world.
Etzebeth is an absolute monster at lock and is key in the way the Springboks play, this year could well be the year that he finally wins an elusive Men’s World Player of the Year award after a couple of years on the nominees list.
With the nature of international rugby, one mistake could change the entire complexion of how a player is viewed, but Eben seems to be able to put in quality performances consistently and isn’t too mistake-prone.
Women’s Player of the Year: Ilona Maher
Maher isn’t only selected due to the hype that surrounds her, but she is also a brilliant rugby player and one who will transition well into 15s.
Having only made her Bristol Bears and professional 15s debut yesterday (at the time of writing), there are still a lot of questions needed to be answered.
She will be picked by Team USA going into the World Cup and after starring at the Olympics, will be used to the pressure which will set her apart from others.
These awards are also sometimes criticised for picking fan favourites, which Ilona is, so rightly or wrongly she is already in a strong position for this award before even starting a competitive fixture.
READ MORE: ‘Trailblazer’ Ilona Maher showing the way, says World Rugby Chief
Coach of the year: Pieter Benade
Prior to this year, Zimbabwe was relatively inactive for a few years. Pieter Benade has turned this around and now they are the second-best team on the continent behind South Africa.
He has already won the Rugby Africa Men’s Cup for the first time in 12 years and looks to be turning it around for the Sables after a continental domination from Namibia over the past decade.
While bigger names may dominate the headlines, Pieter has been doing a stellar job and should he continue it going into 2025 he may get some international credit, especially if they manage to play a big-name side.
