Scrum of the Earth /

1. Ospreys to win the Heineken Cup. Providing they don't run into Richard Hill, the Welsh were at 16/1 when we put them down for a fiver. What price for the treble?

2. South Africa to beat the British Lions. Unless the Springboks get struck down by a food poisoning epidemic it could well be a whitewash in the summer.

3. Harlequins to win the Guinness Premiership. A home semi-final could be necessary but the young English soldiers from The Stoop are getting plenty of big-match practice in the meantime.

4. Jean de Villiers to win IRB Player of the Year. The Springbok centre was the most improved player of 2008 and the world's best number twelve will fancy a British Lions scalp.

5. NSW Waratahs to win the Super 14. No Dan Carter in 2009 should bring the challenge much closer together and the Australians are blessed with a bounty of talent.

1. Bath 34-42 London Wasps Turned out to be a season defining 40 minutes for Guinness Premiership champions, London Wasps. Three tries in 15 minutes blew Bath apart and reignited the Londoners season while a young chap called Danny Cipriani notched up 24 points including a mesmerizing try.

2. Stade Francais 10-15 Harlequins Not distracted by all the curvaceous cancan girls and pre-match razzmatazz, Harlequins became the first English side to beat the colourful Parisians in their own back-yard. The sheer ‘blood and guts,’ backs against the wall stuff, in front of 78,000 screaming fanatics was awe-inspiring. The last-gasp victory the following week in London wasn’t bad either!

3. Wales 21-18 Australia November went right to the wire and ended with a scintillating victory for the Grand-Slam champions. Stunning first half tries from Lee Byrne and Shane Williams put the hosts in control before Digby Ioane’s late effort gave the Dragons a few nervy last seconds but Wales held on.

4. New Zealand 28-30 South Africa Hats off to the Springboks for ending the All-Blacks World Record 30-match unbeaten home run that stretched over ten years. High-tackles galore, Ricky Januarie’s try five minutes from time with South Africa down to 14 men was awesome. Plus the sub-plot with Craig Dowd calling Pieter de Villiers 'a puppet' gave us all a chuckle and complimented the dramatic thriller.

5. Western Force 24-29 Crusaders 24-12 down, the Super 14 champions showed their mettle and finally produced a game worthy of the ELVs. Nine tries, off-loading of the highest quality, and Matt Giteau and Dan Carter trading the first blows of their great 2008 battles, gave us all hope that the new laws will create unmissable spectacles.

1. New Zealand. The untouchables. 13 wins from 15 Tests saw the All-Blacks claim a clean sweep of Tri-Nations, Bledisloe Cup and Grand Slam titles. They tore up the northern hemisphere without even getting out of second gear and that’s on top of losing a truck load of stars post-World Cup 2007.

2. Wales. Mix together Warren Gatland’s Midas touch, Shane Williams’ twinkle toes, Martyn Williams’ anti-wrinkle cream and that Wallaby win and it’s a top 2008 for the Grand Slammers.

3. New Zealand U20s. The Baby Blacks swept all before them en route to the inaugural Junior World Championship in Wales. Daniel Kirkpatrick starred at fly-half and alongside flanker Chris Braid, we could yet see the next Carter-McCaw combo.

4. London Wasps. 10th in the table in November, McGeechan’s boys only lost twice in 17 Premiership games before bidding a tearful Lawrence Dallaglio goodbye at Twickenham while claiming the sweetest of four Premiership trophy's in six seasons.

5. Munster. The noise generated in The Millennium Stadium from the army of red supporters made hairs stand to attention. A second Heineken Cup was the perfect send-off for coach Declan Kidney sealed their status as a European rugby dynasty.

1. Graham Henry. Always wanted to be judged by results and by jove did he put a sock in his doubters traps. The Tri-Nations title, Bledisloe Cup and a Grand Slam tour to top a great year isn't bad for a guy that had his head on the chopping board in January.

2. Warren Gatland. Started with a bang against England at Twickenham, Wales went onto win the Grand Slam and saved northern hemisphere blushes from an autumn whitewash. Plus he won't be pushed around by the WRU or the provinces. We like him!

3. Robbie Deans. The 'positron' won his record-breaking fifth 'Super' rugby title with the Crusaders and instantly struck gold with the Wallabies, sorting out their scrum and blooding exciting young talents such as Quade Cooper, James O'Connor and David Pocock.

4. Toby Booth. Took over the reigns at London Irish and could've sunk like the Titanic but heading into Christmas, the Exiles find themsevles at the top of the Premiership, playing the best brand of rugby and nurturing England's foremost juniors, including Shane Geraghty, Nick Kennedy and Delon Armitage.

5. Pieter de Villiers. Car-park caper's, comparing himself to Jesus, but ending the All-Blacks 30-match unbeaten home record was the highlight.

1. Dan Carter. There aren't enough superlatives for rugby's No. 1 superstar. Prides himself on being the best in every department. And who are we to argue? A tactical genius, strong runner and dynamite defender, Carter is Mr. Perfect!

2. Shane Williams. Wales' little guy with a huge reputation. The pocket rocket crowned a record-breaking year - becoming Wales' all-time top scorer - by lifting the IRB World Player of the Year.

3. Richie McCaw. The talisman in all-black. A modern day miracle man appearing in nine games in under eight weeks at the end of 2008. It's enough to make the PRA choke on their Coco Pops.

4. Lee Byrne. Five years ago, the Ospreys and Wales full-back was as likely to be coal mining as he was scoring crucial tries against England and Australia.

5. Conrad Smith. The unsung hero in the All-Blacks back-line. His pivotal role has rejuvenated Ma'a Nonu's career as well as giving a dangerously sublime balance to New Zealand.