Tuesday 25 December 2018 16:17, UK
We count down 12 of the biggest talking points from around the world of rugby union in 2018...
12. USA's impressive run
The United States are on a run of good form at the moment, losing only one of the 10 Tests they played in 2018, taking down Scotland and Samoa in that time. Their run has seen them rise to 12th in the world rankings, above the likes of Samoa and Italy, and only three places behind France.
Their Sevens team are top of the HSBC World Series rankings, with New Zealand, Fiji, England and South Africa all trailing the Americans after two tournaments.
Mike Friday's side featured in both of the first two finals, losing to New Zealand in Dubai and beaten by Fiji in Cape Town. Though there is a long way to go in the Sevens Series, it appears that rugby in America is on the up, which can only be good for the global game.
11. Aphiwe Dyantyi's sensational 2018
Springbok left wing Aphiwe Dyantyi was last month crowned Breakthrough Player of the Year at World Rugby's awards ceremony in Monaco.
It capped an incredible year for the South African, during which he has scored six tries in 13 starts for the Boks following his debut against England in June.
Incredibly, the 24-year-old was almost lost from rugby after giving the sport up after school, but was lured back to the game by a persistent U20s coach at his university.
10. Is England's fly-half debate over?
In his column at the end of the Quilter Internationals, Stuart Barnes said Owen Farrell's November performances had cemented his place as England fly-half.
"As for Farrell, he was superb," wrote Barnes. "The argument over the England World Cup No 10 has been put to bed.
"There is a decisiveness to his game that lifts those around him and a fierceness of determination rare even at the heights of international sport."
It will be interesting to see what Eddie Jones does during the Six Nations, but in November England looked threatening with Farrell in the No 10 jersey.
9. Scotland won nine out of 11 Tests at home
While everyone has been talking about England and Ireland - and more recently Wales - Scotland have been quietly ticking along, turning Murrayfield into a fortress in the process.
In the last two years Scotland have played 11 Tests in the Scottish capital, and only lost two of them. The All Blacks beat Gregor Townsend's side 22-17 in November 2017, while the Springboks managed a 26-20 victory last month.
Scotland's away form is still something they need to address, but by making Murrayfield a difficult place to visit they can make a play for the Six Nations title. Ireland and Wales visit Edinburgh in the 2019 tournament, and both games will no doubt be closely-fought.
8. Will Sergio Parisse break the 150 mark?
Will Sergio Parisse become the first player to play 150 Tests for his country? Richie McCaw retired after winning the 2015 World Cup, having represented New Zealand on 148 occasions.
Italy currently have two confirmed World Cup warm-ups - against England and Ireland - and have a pair of unconfirmed games lined up against Russia and France. If the latter two go ahead, Italy have 13 games between now and the end of the pool stages of the Japan World Cup.
If Parisse plays all 13 Tests, he will have 147 caps for Italy. Is the 35-year-old likely to call time on his career after Japan, or will he stay on? If Parisse doesn't pass the milestone, will anyone manage the feat of playing 150 internationals?
7. Jacob Stockdale's Test emergence
Ulster's explosive winger Jacob Stockdale scored seven tries in this year's Six Nations; a tournament record. The 22-year-old has been in blistering form for club and country, taking his tally to 12 tries in 14 Tests.
Stockdale's meteoric rise has coincided with Ireland's tilt to become the best side in the world. In November the winger provided a brilliant chip and chase to score the try that handed Ireland victory over the defending world champions.
Stockdale is one of many young players, including Jordan Larmour, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose, who will further Ireland's cause for many years to come.
6. Australia drop to sixth in the rankings
While Ireland have been on the up, Australia have been on the way down, slipping to sixth in the world rankings after losing nine of their 13 Tests in 2018.
Rugby Australia have maintained that Michael Cheika is still the man to lead the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup, but poor results have piled enormous pressure on him and his team.
The Wallabies won the last two Rugby Championship titles in World Cup years, can they continue that record and inject some momentum ahead of the journey to Japan?
5. Katy Daley-Mclean becomes England Women's fifth centurion
In November, Katy Daley-Mclean became the fifth woman to reach the milestone of playing 100 Tests for England, following in the footsteps of Amy Garnett, Rocky Clark, Tamara Taylor and Sarah Hunter.
The fly-half has been a stalwart for England since making her debut against Scotland in 2007, playing alongside her childhood friend Hunter throughout the years.
"Without a shadow of a doubt, she's the best kicking women's player in the world of rugby and that's just one facet of the game," said England coach Simon Middleton of Daley-Mclean ahead of her 100th cap.
Certainly one of the players who will lead England's charge at next year's Six Nations.
4. Autumn clean sweep for Wales
Wales are a team peaking at just the right time. Despite the retirement of influential flanker and Lions captain Sam Warburton, the Welsh have built plenty of depth across the squad.
In last month's autumn series Wales recorded their first ever November clean sweep; no easy feat given they played the Springboks and the Wallabies.
The victories took Wales' current winning run to nine games, the first time they have managed the feat in the 21st century. Certainly a team with the right kind of form ahead of the Six Nations and World Cup.
3. France's three victories in 2018
It was a desperately unlucky year for Les Bleus, who won only three of their 11 Tests in 2018. They started their year by losing to Ireland by a whisker thanks to a last-gasp Johnny Sexton drop goal, before going down to Scotland by six points away from home in a game they probably should have won.
They then beat England and Italy before suffering another close loss, this time to Wales by a single point in Cardiff.
Thereafter they were whitewashed by the All Blacks, though they were on the receiving end of questionable officiating, before starting their autumn with a defeat to the Boks in the final play of the game.
They then beat Argentina before Fiji came to town and beat them. France are a team in need of some luck and some wins.
2. Argentina's two Rugby Championship victories
In this year's Rugby Championship, Argentina beat the Springboks 32-19 in Mendoza in the second round, and toppled the Wallabies 23-19 on the Gold Coast in round four.
It was the first time the Pumas had recorded two victories in a single Championship, previously winning either one or none.
Despite that statistic, you'd be hard-pressed to argue that Argentina are on the up. In fact, those two victories were their only wins of 2018, losing 10 Tests to find themselves 10th in the world.
The Pumas usually peak at World Cups, but 2019 looks set to be the tournament that changes that...
1. Who is the Number 1 team in the world?
Ahead of New Zealand's Test against Ireland last month, Steve Hansen said the winning side would have every right to call themselves the best team in the world. Hansen stuck to his opinion following his New Zealand's loss, saying the responsibility of being the best side in the world belonged to Joe Schmidt's side.
The All Blacks are still at the top of World Rugby's rankings, but Ireland could overtake them if they do the Grand Slam in 2019. However, given the proximity to the World Cup, the likely scenario will be that if either New Zealand or Ireland win the tournament, that will be the deciding factor in determining who is called the best team on the planet.
They should avoid each other in the early stages of the World Cup knock-outs, but if Ireland slip up to Scotland or the All Blacks lose their opening game against the Springboks, then they could be on a collision course to face off as early as the quarter-finals.
If that scenario does not play out, we could well be seeing these two teams face off in the World Cup final for the trophy as well as top spot in the World Rugby rankings.
