Italy v Wales (Men's Six Nations, February 8th)
Perhaps not the best game of the year - or even the Championship - in terms of actual rugby, but it certainly provided plenty of drama. Warren Gatland was in his second term as Wales coach after making a sensational return ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Wales had gone on to make the quarter-finals of that tournament after famously dumping Australia out at the group stage in a first for the Wallabies, but in a sliding doors moment, Wales were unable to match that performance against Argentina in the quarter-finals. The Welsh were beaten that day in Marseille, and from there went on a scarcely believable losing run.
It culminated in a trip to Rome on the back of 13 straight defeats that had all started with that loss in France at the end of 2023. Wales were gallant in the Italian capital, but their hosts were the better side on the day, and the defeat marked the departure of Gatland - a once heralded figure in Cardiff leaving with a record of 20 defeats in 26 Tests in his second spell.
England v France (Men's Six Nations, February 8th)
Minutes after the final whistle in Rome, England and France kicked off their match at Twickenham. France had come into this year's tournament as bona fide title contenders after struggling in 2024 due to their World Cup hangover. Les Bleus had comfortably seen off Wales the week before, while England had lost their championship opener in Dublin.
Pre-match favourites France could not quite shake off their hosts, though, and the game ebbed and flowed. Fin Smith was making his first start in the number 10 jersey for his country, and handled proceedings with impressive calm. Like the match that preceded it, it was not without its mistakes, but there was plenty of drama on offer - reaching a climax when Elliot Daly burst through the French line in the 79th minute to blow the Championship wide open.
England v France (Women's Six Nations, April 26th)
This is a rivalry that has bubbled over the years, providing all the more tension given the fact that the victors between these two teams in a Women's Six Nations are almost always crowned the title and Grand Slam winners.
In 2023, the two sides played out a thriller as France scored 33 second-half points to nearly secure the unlikeliest of comebacks. And it seemed like that may be the case again this year as Les Bleues kept fighting back late in the piece, but England were able to hang onto the Twickenham victory in the same year that they would go on to win the Rugby World Cup.
Australia v British and Irish Lions (Second Test, July 26)
Going into this tour, a lot of the talk had centred around whether the Wallabies were enough of a fading force that they should be replaced by Argentina in the 12-year cycle of tours. That noise grew after the Pumas beat the Lions in a warm-up Test in Dublin prior to the squad heading down under, and grew further with each regulation victory the Lions delivered on their way to the Test series.
The Wallabies provided somewhat of a fightback late in the first Test, but were in reality nowhere near beating the visitors in Brisbane. However, a week later in Melbourne, Australia finally clicked into gear under Joe Schmidt.
The hosts took an unlikely 26-24 late on, but the Lions would not be denied a first series win since their last trip to Australia, and the dam finally broke in the final play of the game as Hugo Keenan splintered the defence as well as the hearts of the onlooking Australia fans.
All was not lost, though, as Australia would win the third Test and then beat the world number one Springboks in their Rugby Championship opener shortly thereafter, but a sloppy end-of-year tour has seen them reinstated as a side not quite seen as at the top table any more.
Australia v USA (Rugby World Cup 2025, August 26th)
With England also in their group for the 2025 Rugby World Cup, the general consensus was that this game was for the privilege of finishing second in the pool and getting a quarter-final against an impressive Canada outfit. Not much of a prize on paper, but you wouldn't know it the way these two sides went at each other.
With global superstar Ilona Maher on one side and the likes of rising star Caitlyn Halse in the other, the game lived up to the billing as they played out a thrilling 31-31 draw in front of a frantic and packed stadium in York.
Australia would eventually emerge as the second-place team on competition points and would go on to lose to Canada in the quarter-finals, while Maher stayed on to watch the remainder of the tournament where she was a regular and popular figure whenever spotted on the big screens at games.
New Zealand v South Africa (Rugby Championship, September 13th)
Rugby's greatest rivalry looked anything but by the time the final whistle went in Wellington. For so long in the professional era the All Blacks had dominated this rivalry, at one time even beating the Boks by an incredible 57-0 in 2017.
But the Springboks have built impressively under Rassie Erasmus since he took over in 2018, to the point they were once again on a level playing field with their rivals before beating them in the 2023 World Cup final. However, from that moment on the Boks would start to regularly get the better of the All Blacks, and in Wellington this year it all came to a head. Beaten a week before at Eden Park, the Boks came back firing and inflicted the All Blacks' heaviest defeat in history on their way to defending their Rugby Championship title.
England v Canada (Rugby World Cup 2025, September 27th)
Canada's semi-final victory against the Black Ferns was arguably the game of the tournament, and set the Canadians up for their goal of playing in the final at Twickenham. But a week later, despite being led by player of the year Sophie de Goede, Canada were unable to live with the hosts as England won the final in front of their ecstatic home support. However, the game itself will be remembered for so much more than the scoreline.
Seen as a watershed moment for women's rugby, the final was completely sold out as over 80,000 people packed the rafters to watch the Red Roses win the title. The whole tournament itself was seen as a great success for all involved, and though Canada would ultimately lose the game, they were part of history.
Ireland v South Africa (Autumn Nations Series, November 22nd)
In terms of quality, this game was low, but as it always does, it served up plenty of drama. Ireland are the one team that has always had the better of Erasmus' Springboks - they were the only team to beat the Boks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and also pulled out a famous win on South African soil last year with a depleted squad.
But in Dublin, South Africa would have their revenge. The Bok scrum demolished their Irish counterparts, bringing about a number of yellow cards that threatened to condemn the game to something nearing a farce, while James Ryan was given a red for a dangeroud clearout on Malcolm Marx.
However, Ireland fought back admirably, holding on to lose 24-13 - a respectable scoreline given they had played swatches of the game without a full complement. It was another chapter in the slowly growing rivalry that is born of Erasmus leaving Munster to join the Springboks, who have had numerous fiery games against Ireland in the ensuing seven years.