It’s a new year – and with that, an opportunity to stare into the crystal ball and throw some fearless predictions down for Australian rugby.

Last year the Wallabies, albeit shakily at first, got up off the deck after a disastrous World Cup and started to throw some good punches by year’s end. The Brumbies were the last team standing only to fall in the semi-finals of Super Rugby yet again.

The Sevens saw Australia’s Women’s side continue to dominate – right up until the Paris Olympics. The Wallaroos followed a similar path to the men, with big losses culminating in their first-ever major title.

It would be easy to assume Australian rugby will continue to coast in this grey space of so-close-but-so-far like the last decade. However, with a Lions tour this year and a men’s World Cup on the horizon, now is the time for that clear promise to turn into concrete results.

If at the end of this year, the feeling fans have is one of excitement for the future, we’re in the right place.

Joe Schmidt will depart … after The Rugby Championship

The question of whether Joe Schmidt is extending beyond 2025 is, at the time of writing, unanswered. While he did a good job in 2024 in picking up a Wallaby side flat on their back, he will fulfil his contract, and then depart to put family first.

The clock is ticking on his decision and if he leaves Rugby Australia will have a lot of time to find a good candidate to replace him.

To ease that transition, with only two weeks between the end of the Lions tour and their first match against the Springboks, Schmidt will likely carry on for a second Rugby Championship, enjoying a swansong at Optus Stadium against the All Blacks.

Will the Brumbies dominance of Australian rugby continue? (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Three Aussie sides will make Super Rugby Finals – and go deep into the season

Super Rugby Pacific will be a different beast in 2025 – while the loss of the Melbourne Rebels and the fallout remains a very black mark on 2024, the fact so many players have been signed to their rivals will address questions of depth in the Aussie sides.

But it’s more than that. If you are a professional rugby player, there is a lot to play for in Australia this year. The World Cups, the Lions tour, get ever closer. If there is ever a time to perform, now is it.

The Blues, Hurricanes, Chiefs and Brumbies set the benchmark in 2024 – but in 2025, a big challenger will emerge in the Queensland Reds – fresh off a busy off-season under Les Kiss and a stacked squad. Then there are the Waratahs, who, after a massive cleanout, come into 2025 with a new imposing squad and coach.

With only six spots up for grabs in finals, the Brumbies and Reds will likely feature, and we’re calling the Waratahs to be the big improvers of the competition and sneak into the qualifying finals. We predict two Aussie sides will make the semis. Whether they can make their first grand final appearance since 2015 is another question.

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One Australian provincial side will beat the British & Irish Lions

While everyone will have their eyes on the three Wallabies Tests in July, the Super Rugby sides will also get a crack at the Lions – and it’s easier to forget than in the last two Lions tours, two sides, namely Australia A and the Brumbies, grabbed wins.

Given how the Aussie sides are looking in 2025, it would not be outside the realm of possibility for those sides to ask questions of the Lions. That sneaky provincial victory will come again in 2025 – my money is on the Queensland Reds.

The British & Irish Lions tour will come down to the decider

While most of this will likely agree the Lions will be favourites, the Wallabies will ask plenty of questions.

All eyes point to a much closer series – and we predict that, like 2001 and 2013, it’ll come down to the decider in Sydney. How that final match will go, however, is where the debate begins.

Duhan van der Merwe. (Photo By Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The ANZAC XV concept to rapidly expand after the Adelaide match

Many eyes will be on the Adelaide Oval when the Lions turn up to play an invitational Australian and New Zealand side, dubbed the ‘ANZAC XV.’

First used as a concept on the 1989 tour, the names tossed around as to who might feature in the side – from All Blacks stars like Ardie Savea to veteran Wallabies like Quade Cooper and Will Genia – certainly make the match one of the more intriguing concepts in the schedule.

Should it end up being as close a fixture as the 1989 match, it could spawn increased interest in bringing back the concept on a more regular basis.

Will 2025 be the year of the Wallaroo? (Source: Getty Images)

Wallaroos will have most successful year in 15 years – and will make quarter-finals

The Wallaroos are set to play in the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, earning qualification following their WXV2 title win in South Africa.

Jo Yapp’s side will have a busy year – following Super Rugby Women’s in February, the national side will kick off their season against Fiji, with the Pacific Four Series and a Wales tour completing their preparations.

Should they overcome Fiji on home soil, the Wallaroos will pick up their fourth consecutive win – a feat the side has never achieved before.

The side has not enjoyed a successful year since their 2010 RWC run, however, with clashes against sides like Fiji, Wales and Samoa – Yapp’s side has the potential to get on a roll, especially targeting two matches against the USA. Should they prevail, they could come close to emulating that – while also making the quarter-finals.

Women’s Sevens to continue their dominance, men finish in top five

There was a fourth women’s Sevens world title in 2024, but the program knew they let the big one get away, with neither the men nor women leaving Paris with any medals to show for their efforts.

Expect both sides to have points to prove in 2025 – the women’s side, currently sitting second, will hit the ground running in Perth, and will make a run to go back-to-back for the first time in 2025. The men have started slowly, but a home series in Perth will kickstart their year and give them the momentum for a solid run home.

While a title is likely out of reach, a chance to climb higher than their 2024 placing of fifth is likely.

Rugby Australia will confirm a new domestic competition 

There will be plenty of news around rugby in Australia in 2025, not just about what’s happening on the park, but off it. We predict the announcement of a new domestic competition in Australia, either a national club competition or a return to Super Rugby AU.

Charlie Gamble in his NRC days (Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

The topic has been simmering in the background ever since the demise of the NRC and the subsequent success of Super Rugby AU – and with news in October last year of a new third-tier domestic competition being discussed plus Daniel Herbert also revealing a preference for a national club competition.

While such a competition taking the field in 2025 is unlikely, as the governing body looks to shore up and improve its broadcasting deal, a domestic competition would likely fit into that equation.

With the Lions tour and two World Cups meaning many eyes will be on Australian rugby for the remainder of this decade, it also is an ideal time for such a competition to be announced and garner support. If there is any time, 2025 seems like it.

Australia will improve in The Rugby Championship – including a win over the All Blacks

The 2024 Rugby Championship was a tough slog for the Wallabies, as they finished bottom of the ladder and grabbing just one win from six matches. However, with a more favourable draw and more time under Schmidt, 2025 should be a more successful campaign.

It is fair to say that as tough starts to the year go, no team will compare to the Wallabies. Following their warm-up against Fiji, they’ll face three Tests against the Lions, then two Test matches away from home against South Africa. Brutal.

However, as evidenced by their improvement over the Autumn Series, tough seas might see a rising tide lift Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies – and following this they will welcome the Pumas for two matches in Australia, before hosting the All Blacks at Perth Stadium after a trip to Eden Park.

Given the nature of the last two clashes in the West between the old rivals, we should expect a thrilling Bledisloe contest – and if it is to be Schmidt’s final match in charge, there will be an extra incentive to break the All Blacks’ winning streak over the Wallabies that stretches back to 2021.

Will Les Kiss be the new Wallabies coach? (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

The new Wallabies coach will be a domestic choice

The Wallabies will likely enjoy a month off between the end of The Rugby Championship and the commencement of the Autumn Nations Series – but it will be a busy period. While their November Tests are still to be confirmed, this month is the best time for Joe Schmidt to hand over the reins.

Such a period gives the new coach a handful of Tests to get the hang of the squad, and should Schmidt confirm his departure early, will give Rugby Australia more time to find a replacement.

While there are plenty of quality coaches circling planet rugby, we predict the governing body will pick domestically – with Les Kiss the obvious standout given his similar approach and experience with Schmidt, and his encouraging results in his first year at the Queensland Reds.

Stephen Larkham would be the other major domestic contender, having been around the national side during Michael Cheika’s time in charge.

A year is a long time in rugby, and who knows what other names may enter the picture – but should Schmidt depart, whoever they choose will likely be the most important decision for Australian rugby this ‘golden’ decade – and that is not being hyperbolic.

Whoever they choose will lead the Wallabies at a home World Cup, a role that the stuff of dreams are made of – and it could determine whether this renewed life under Schmidt is yet again another flash in the pan or a sign that the dark times of Australian rugby are truly coming to an end.