A characteristic of rugby fans is that they are more interested in the future than the present. Of course, loss happens in the moment, but the trick is not to allow the pain to persist.
Change the subject. Who are the promising young players? How good is the Lions tour? How great is the Australia-New Zealand Women’s Sevens match?
South Africa is a notable exception. Like a demigod-like global technological innovator, Rassie Erasmus works ahead of his pursuers, seeking new advantages and finding ways to circumvent laws not yet invented.
This gives his compatriots the luxury of smelling the roses and living in the moment. To be fair, they’ve had a lot of practice at it in recent years.
Without bomb squads and time zones that give players and fans easy access to more lucrative competitions, Australia and New Zealand instead vent their frustrations about the game’s problems and their optimism about the future.
That’s why the events and non-events of 2024 will ultimately be better viewed through the lens of 2025. The seeds have been sown. Over time, a proper assessment will become possible.
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The Blues dominated Super Rugby in a very non-Super Rugby style. In one game against the Rebels, he scored the same try four times, moving forward all at once, irresistibly like a giant tunnel-boring machine.
Was this an aberration or was it a template that Coach Vern Cotter based himself on? How to step up your power game in 2025?
After the finals, a 41-10 win over the Chiefs, Cotter couldn’t hide his face heading into the game. The borderline cruel and steely gaze of an interrogator who has just embarked on an extended mental and physical battle. There will be no easing.
Remember, rugby is a sport at its best when there is a contrast and clash of styles. It gives the Blues more power, and it also gives power to other teams hoping to neutralize threats and catch opponents napping on the edge.
Over the years teams, indeed entire countries, have come and gone from Super Rugby. In that context, with the Wallabies’ rise improving the national mood and redistributing many of their players, the Melbourne Rebels quickly became another footnote.
But don’t be surprised if you discover the events that led to the Rebels’ closure in 2024 and shaped Australian rugby in 2025. Despite positive feelings about the Wallabies’ performance, Rugby Australia’s financial position remains very fragile. The blue sky has dark clouds lurking nearby.
It remains incomprehensible that Rugby Australia would turn its back on Australia’s second most populous state. There are fast-growing catchments in Australia that do not naturally lean towards the AFL.
But barring the hit-and-run raid, filling the MCG with Lions fans next year is exactly what happened.
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Whatever you think of the Rebels, at the heart of this matter is a deep and far-reaching story of a mismanagement of long-term strategy and a mismatch of rugby values ​​by those in charge of running the game. This is a road I previously traveled in Western Australia.
While there are good people in Melbourne working independently to restore roads and a sense of optimism exists, the reality that the only way to secure the future of rugby in Victoria is to operate outside Rugby Australia’s tent seems absurd.
It’s not just beer and skittles in New Zealand. NZ Rugby, provincial unions, players’ associations and equity partner Silver Lake all have different ideas on how to secure the future of the sport.
What’s also missed is the opportunity to reimagine Super Rugby. Australia and New Zealand are now keen to use the tournament as a testing ground for their national teams.
Super Rugby CEO Jack Mesley’s attempt to deliver a new finals structure – necessitated by a decline in competing teams – with innovations designed to give fans “as much premium content as possible” was one of the saddest events of the year. .
It’s not a statement per se, but it’s meant to confirm that the Rugby administration continues to indulge its corporate doublespeak and uncanny ability to disrespect its stakeholders.
What about this issue from the RFU’s ‘Performance on Strategic Planning Document’, which highlights England’s 65% win rate in 2024 but states in fine print that this does not include England’s two July Test defeats against New Zealand? Seriously.
Different low light? Carter Gordon suffers unnecessary, hurtful defeat in rugby league, former Wallabies captain Rocky Eltham auditions for new league fugitive Film, England rush new Tom Curry from long line of severe concussions to play in meaningless match against Japan.
On the positive side, the emergence of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was another event that will pay off in 2025 and beyond. And what about the transition from the dangerous but flawed Tom Wright to a world-class full-back? Rob Valetini’s consistency? Fraser McWright’s confidence and authority?
Even if Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt fails to extend the season to the 2027 World Cup, the die has been cast on 2025 and the Wallabies could start next year light years ahead of when Schmidt arrived.
During 2024, a significant number of Australia’s professional players have been exposed to and assessed the Wallabies environment, either as Test debutants or in training camps. There will be no such net casting next year.
The Wallabies may still lack the 25-30 top-quality players they need to secure a win against the Lions, but at least they now have 15-18 players to ensure a hot series. They will be a winning opportunity.
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There is a similar vibe around the All Blacks, albeit from a much higher starting position. With all the excitement surrounding Wallace Sititi’s emergence this year, I’m especially excited to see what he can bring in 2025. Because we already know he belongs at the highest level.
Tight Five is playing nicely with some depth. If France can maintain their 2025 form and bring a development team to New Zealand (the same way they treated their last tour of Australia), Scott Robertson will have a golden opportunity to bring his backline up to the same pace.
Whether Robertson can find the courage and inspiration at the selection table to help him do so will be one of the ‘big watches’ of 2025.
The election of Brett Robinson to the World Rugby presidency in November has significant implications for the game in the region.
That said, those who hold a worldview that there is an over-reliance and expectation of what governments can do for society will recognize the limitations of world governing bodies and understand why a gap remains between what they believe World Rugby has achieved . About concussion issues and real-life situations.
Other standout moments this year include a bizarre Twitter war over whether Antoine Dupont is the GOAT or not, Argentina and Scotland promising to establish themselves as truly consistent Tier 1 contenders, and a 20-minute red card debate so confusing It’s the looming specter (or is it a rainbow?) of Saudi money flowing into rugby that the opponents actually back up their opponents’ claims.
What should you bet your house on in 2025? The former Rebels’ good performance for the new Super Rugby franchise has been explained away by lazy and misinformed commentators as they could finally reach their true potential under Kiss/McKellar/Larkham/Cron.
The same goes for the inevitable rumors that discord will surface in the Lions squad between the various national factions. And while we were enthusiastic about the financial success of the tour, we unfortunately once again failed to capitalize on this for sustained media and public understanding and coverage of rugby.
(Photo: Charles McQuillan – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
So, in what was already a strong year leading up to the annual Rap Music Awards with mentions of ‘Book of the Year’, the unsettling effects of COVID-19 are now well in the rearview mirror.
My most memorable performance was when my Uncle Lucius in Austin tore up the Brunswick Ballroom in Melbourne. Leadman Kevin Galloway’s booming, soulful baritone filled every crevice of the venue.
It’s been a good year for Australian albums, including Paul Kelly’s long-awaited new album ‘Fever Longing Still’ and Mia Dyson’s standout ‘Tender Heart’.
But the best of the local songs was ‘Til My Song is Done’ by Emma Donovan. Ostensibly straddling soul and country, but in reality seamlessly connected, this is a great album rooted in family and with the genuine simplicity and heart that marks Donovan as an artist of the highest order among Australian musicians.
This year’s World Music Pick is Senegalese-born artist Lass. His album ‘Passeport’ is brilliantly performed and sung and completely infectious.
Narrowing it down to a ‘top three’ was a tough task, but Willie Watson’s self-titled album is a worthy bronze medal winner. We could have done without the track ending in a long, wordy ending, but Watson has a knack for delivering original, traditional folk songs in a style that’s both dated and respectful, yet fresh and exciting.
Kentucky native Sturgill Simpson has earned an enviable reputation for his blistering live sets. Here, under the name Johnny Blue Skies, he dials back the intensity of ‘Passage Du Desir’, resulting in a great album that can be listened to over and over again.
Spanning yet another genre, there’s something for everyone – from Boz Scaggs-style soul, Jimmy Buffet’s whimsy, and the powerful and moving ‘Jupiter’s Faerie’ to a revisiting of Elton John’s ‘Madman Across the Water’. Very impressive.
Number one for 2024 is Australian-born Canadian Ruth Moody with her perfectly presented album ‘The Wanderer’. Her duet with Joey Landreth on the track ‘The Spell of the Lilac Bloom’ is worth the price of admission alone, but it’s the consistent attention to detail that really captivates.
Not a word or note is wasted, and the sparse, subtle arrangements always allow Moody’s wonderfully pure voice to shine.
In today’s streaming world, track listings have become a lost art, but they’re still important to some of the picky traditionalists among us. In that sense, considering everything that came before it, ‘Comin’ Round The Bend’ is probably the best album I’ve heard since the Stones closed ‘Sticky Fingers’ with ‘Moonlight Mile’.
Moody is scheduled to tour Australia in April and May. I couldn’t imagine a better way to fill time before the Lions tour.
