It has now been 30 years since rugby union turned professional and the sport as we knew it changed completely and forever in an instant.
But as the 2025-26 season gets ready for kick-off this week, it’s no exaggeration to say we are set for one of the most defining campaigns since 1995. And that’s because there is so much going on in the rugby world.
Lots of it is good. Some of it is bad. And in other areas, uncertainty reigns.
But, on the whole, I am hugely excited about what’s to come. Here are what I see as rugby’s six biggest talking points in the next 12 months…
1. CAN ENGLAND GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Steve Borthwick has had a fantastic six months. While the focus was on the British & Irish Lions this summer, his England team quietly continued their impressive progress with a 2-0 series victory in Argentina – one achieved while their best players were in Australia.
England showed real signs of progression last season, bouncing back from a poor autumn to finish second in the Six Nations, and they have won their past seven games. But the positive signs are about more than just results. England have been winning, but it’s the evolution of their game that has impressed me most.
England’s George Ford (left) and Luke Northmore raise the trophy to celebrate a 3-0 series victory over Argentina in the summer
With many England stars on Lions duty, fringe players such as Harlequins wing Cadan Murley took their chance to impress in South America
Borthwick has now got England playing a fantastic brand of attacking rugby. Their performances in Argentina, without the likes of Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge, Tom Curry, Tommy Freeman and more, were outstanding. England’s challenge is now to go up another notch.
They are absolutely capable of it. Borthwick is building enviable strength in depth and the team is playing in a way I’ve wanted to see for a long time – with the pace to beat the world’s best.
A huge autumn lies ahead when they play the Wallabies, Fiji, the All Blacks and Argentina across four weekends in November. England need to claim statement wins against New Zealand and Australia. They are capable of doing so.
I’ve got a really good feeling about this England team and so should the entire country. Two years out from the World Cup, it’s now time to step things up!
2. RED ROSES ON VERGE OF WORLD CUP GLORY
England take on Canada on Saturday in the Women’s World Cup final at a sold-out Twickenham, in what promises to be a spectacular occasion in front of a record crowd for a women’s game.
How they fought back to beat France in the semi-final was impressive. They didn’t play anywhere near their best in the first half, but still did more than enough. In the knockout stages of World Cups, only one thing matters – the result. It’s about winning, not how you play.
And I’ve got a funny feeling England are going to save their best performance for the final. If, as expected, they lift the trophy, then that success can transform rugby in this country. Both men’s and women’s.
England winning a World Cup on home soil can be game-changing in terms of growing grassroots participation. Rugby desperately needs that. I hope an England win will encourage more young girls to get involved but also women who have never played before.
Ellie Kildunne of England makes a break during her side’s World Cup semi-final victory over France at the weekend, in which she played a starring role
Victory for England in the World Cup final on Saturday would be a real shot in the arm for the sport in this country
3. THE MOST COMPETITIVE PREMIERSHIP IN YEARS
English rugby’s top division has had its problems in the past few years. But the league has now moved past them and I can’t wait for the new season, which begins on Thursday with Sale against Gloucester.
PREM Rugby is now a very good product and a league which not only produces entertaining rugby, but competitive games.
Newcastle were the one team who weren’t ticking that box, having finished bottom of the pile for the third season running, and joint-bottom the year before. That’s why their Red Bull takeover is so exciting.
With players like Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol), Kiwi Tom Jordan (Bristol) and Aussies Len Ikitau (Exeter) and James O’Connor (Leicester) joining the league, there is real positivity about the PREM. Throw in Newcastle, who have brought in a raft of internationals such as Liam Williams, Christian Wade and Amanaki Mafi, and it’s a mouthwatering prospect.
That’s fantastic. A thriving league can only help Borthwick and England, too. Six different clubs have won the PREM in the last six seasons and no one has retained their title since Saracens in 2019.
That shows how competitive it’s become. Having said that, Bath, who look so strong, are rightly favourites to retain the title, having added the likes of Henry Arundell, Santi Carreras and Chris Harris to what was already a star-studded squad.
I would still like to see promotion and relegation come back in, especially with the likes of Worcester now reborn. I’m also intrigued by the possibility of Welsh teams joining in the future – but that would do more for those over the Severn Bridge than those in England.
Bath are favourites to retain their title but rugby’s top flight looks more competitive than ever
The PREM will be star-studded this season with players such as Australia fly-half James O’Connor at Leicester a welcome addition
4. SORT THE HEAD INJURY CRISIS
Rugby’s head injury crisis has dragged on long enough. It needs sorting now.
The legal battle between former players and the game’s authorities over alleged negligence and the neurodegenerative diseases they are struggling with is dragging the game’s reputation through the mud. The only people winning are the lawyers. It pains me to see so many players in such a bad way, especially those who I coached, like Steve Thompson.
I’m appalled each time I read stories about players like Carl Hayman and the two New Zealand-based stars, Billy Guyton and Shane Christie, who both seemingly took their own lives as they couldn’t see a way out from the problems rugby inflicted on them.
Unless rugby sorts this out now, the game risks a lifetime of damage. The situation has, I’m sure, already had an impact on participation at grassroots level. Parents will have been put off allowing their children to play because of the dangers of brain injuries.
We need a strong and united voice on the subject. We need to know the scale of the problem and invest more in technology to protect players.
I would urge World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU to come to the table with the former players and do so now with the aim of trying to reach a settlement that suits both parties.
I’m no lawyer, but I’m not sure it can ever be proved that the governing bodies were totally at fault. Equally, I don’t think the legal teams on either side of the case are covering themselves in glory.
If I had one wish for 2025-26, it would be for a resolution on this matter for the good of everyone in rugby.
World Cup winner Steve Thompson has early onset dementia and no memory of the part he played in England’s success
Former All Black prop Carl Hayman also has early onset dementia and has joined a group of players who are taking legal action against World Rugby for alleged negligence
5. R360… FRIEND OR FOE?
There is too much uncertainty in rugby at the moment – and supporters deserve greater clarity over where the sport’s best players will be playing and when.
This summer, we’ll have the start of the Nations Cup internationally and back at club level, the prospect of a World Champions Cup is on the horizon.
Will the proposed breakaway franchise league R360 get off the ground? Will it be a success? We will find out a lot more this season, but it does have potential to upset the game’s established order.
It’s a good thing that change is being proposed. But what a shame it would be if, for example, a number of England stars left Borthwick’s promising setup to defect to the rebel league – and I see that as a real possibility.
Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit, who has just returned from his attempts to play in the NFL and signed for Bristol, is a target for the R360 breakaway league
6. A NEW WORLD ORDER?
There has been some fantastic rugby played in the Rugby Championship and believe it or not, with one round to go, Australia sit top of the pile.
What’s interesting – both from a global and England perspective with the autumn internationals in mind – is that all four teams looked vulnerable. South Africa were shocked at home by the Wallabies and beaten by the All Blacks, too.
But the way they bounced back to hammer New Zealand 43-10 in Wellington was incredibly impressive. Their second-half display was off-the-charts good.
With the global pecking order in mind, it’s been an intriguing tournament. For so long, the southern hemisphere teams looked unbeatable. And while they all remain impressive outfits, there are suddenly chinks in their armour.
Teams like England need to seize on that when they host Australia and New Zealand in the autumn and lay down a couple of World Cup markers.
