With 2026 now at its midway point, let\u2019s reflect on the events that set up this year of rugby and recount what has changed.<\/p>\n
2025 was a year of returns. The British and Irish Lions returned to winning ways with a series victory over the Wallabies, Bath took back their domestic and European crowns, and England regained the women\u2019s World Cup for the first time since 2014. The only thing that remained constant, it seemed, was the Springboks\u2019 dominance in the men\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
With 2025 done, and 2026 halfway there, here are the eye-opening statistics from the previous year:<\/p>\n
British and Irish Lions success<\/p>\n
This was the first series win that the British and Irish Lions have secured since their previous visit to Australia in 2013. With only a handful of survivors from that victory, it was up to the new generation to reignite the Lions brand. A rocky start to the tour ensued with defeat to Argentina, but their initial lack of cohesion was soon rectified once they landed Down Under. Comprehensive victories over the provincial Australian sides enabled the squad to gel together before taking on and defeating the Wallabies 2-1 in the series.<\/p>\n
12 \u2013 It had been 12 years since the Lions had last won a Test series. In their two efforts since, they had dramatically drawn with the All Blacks in 2017 and lost comprehensively to the Springboks<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n 90,307 \u2013 The number of fans that packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground to see the Lions defeat the Wallabies 29-26 in the second Test match. This broke the attendance record for a British & Irish Lions Test match in Australia, set in 2001 with a crowd of 84,188 at Stadium Australia, now known as the Accor Stadium. The highest-ever crowd attendance remains at around 95,000, set in the first Test of the 1955 tour to South Africa.<\/p>\n 803,000 \u2013 The number of viewers who tuned in on the Australian station Nine to watch the Lions win 27-19 in the opening match of the 2025 Test Series versus Australia in Brisbane.<\/p>\n 1,863 \u2013 The total number of international caps in the initial 38-man British and Irish Lions squad. There was just one player with fewer than 10 caps \u2013 and that was England\u2019s Henry Pollock, who sat on just one sole appearance.<\/p>\n Six Months On \u2013 The success of the Lions franchise has led to expansion into the women\u2019s game, as the rugby world gears up for their inaugural tour of New Zealand in 2027. Former England scrum-half and\u00a0Australia\u00a0head coach\u00a0Jo Yapp\u00a0has since been announced as head coach.<\/p>\n Year of Springbok dominance<\/p>\n 86% \u2013 The Springboks\u2019 win rate percentage after winning 13 out of their 15 matches in 2025. There is no doubt about it, the Springboks are currently the greatest team in the world. And their insistence on beating the greatest teams in international rugby on a regular and unapologetic basis simply solidifies that.<\/p>\n 50 \u2013 The number of players who played for the Springboks in 2025, including 31 forwards and 19 backs. Head coach Rassie Erasmus has continued his regime of building such strength in depth that the fourth choice XV is now as recognisable as his first choice XV.<\/p>\n 37 \u2013 The number of points Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu<\/a> scored against Argentina, breaking the previous Test record set by the great Percy\u00a0Montgomery. There is no doubt that the 23-year-old is world-class already, and he proved it in 2025. Remarkably, he has already scored more tries than any other Bok fly-half in history, despite only scoring his first Test try in September.<\/p>\n Six Months On \u2013 South Africa have played just one game this year, a recent 80-31 victory over the Barbarians. They are set to host England in the opening match of the Nations Championship, in what will be a real test of their ageing playing squad.<\/p>\n Five young stars that could SHINE in the upcoming Nations Championship<\/a><\/p>\n Return of Bath<\/p>\n The historic English club have finally returned to their former glory after many years in the mediocre wilderness. Just a couple of years ago, Bath were scrapping at the bottom of the Premiership table, but now they\u2019re bathing in silverware after an incredible resurgence under the leadership of South African Johann van Graan.<\/a><\/p>\n 3 \u2013 The number of trophies won in 2025. The men in blue, black and white lifted the English Premiership, the Prem Cup and the Challenge Cup all within the space of a few months, signalling their return to the top of club rugby. With a series of important signings being made in the summer of 2025, Bath have already pushed on and are looking to repeat their Prem success of last season and to escalate themselves to Champions Cup victory, the pinnacle of European rugby.<\/p>\n 29 \u2013 The number of years since Bath had last won the English Premiership. It was 1996, the last time the title had ended up in Bath\u2019s hands before 2025. Many of the current squad\u2019s members weren\u2019t even alive. In fact, Max Ojomoh and Tom de Glanville\u2019s fathers, Steve and Phil, respectively, were a part of that year\u2019s league winners. Since then, Bath cycled through 16 captains, numerous coaches and an incredible number of individual players, but it was the 2025 crew that shone the brightest.<\/p>\n Six Months On \u2013 Bath have not enjoyed the same success as their previous campaign, ending the 2025\/26 season trophyless. Their European ambitions came crashing down in the Champions Cup semi-final, being torn apart by the immense Bordeaux Begles, while their crusade to retain the PREM trophy was ended by a tenacious Exeter Chiefs at the Recreation Ground.<\/p>\n Women\u2019s World Cup<\/p>\n