Rugby's A-Z of the year as Wales powerhouse reborn amid disaster, controversy and backlash
It has been a hugely eventful year in the world of rugby. Here's our A-Z guide of what went on in 2021.
Alun Wyn has been in superb form this year. He captained Wales to the Six Nations title and the Lions on their tour of South Africa. In October he won his 149th cap for Wales and his 12 Lions Tests put him ahead of Richie MacCaw as the most-capped rugby player of all time.
Taine Basham was named player of the autumn internationals for Wales. He played every minute of Wales' four matches, excelling against New Zealand and earning the man of match in the victory over Australia.
Covid virus has affected the game of rugby this year. Cardiff and Scarlets were forced to play their Champions Cup matches in South Africa because of the new Omicron strain. Both Boxing Day derbies were postponed because there were cases in the Ospreys and Cardiff camps.
Amanda Blanc resigned from her position as chair of the Welsh Rugby Union's Professional Rugby Board in November. Peter Thomas is calling on the WRU to provide an explanation.
Ellis Jenkins returned to rugby after 26 months out with a catastrophic knee injury. He played in November's match against South Africa and captain Wales. Jenkins got engaged to his girlfriend Sophie Evans on Christmas Day.
Dan Fish came out of retirement and played at fly-half for Cardiff against Harlequins in the Champions Cup. 50:22 is a new rugby law introduced this year.
The Welsh Rugby Union has come in for a lot of criticism this past year. The regions were left to pay back a £20m bank loan taken out by the WRU. They slashed their payments to the sides from £26m to £5m due to a shortfall in income caused by Covid. There was also a huge public pressure and an open letter from 123 former Wales internationals demanding better.
Willis Halaholo has had a rollercoaster year in rugby. He returned from a serious knee ligament injury and played for Wales. Halaolo was injured against Fiji but he started the victory over Australia.
Wales suffered a lot of injuries during the autumn international series. George North, Justin Tipuric, Ken Owens, Josh Navidi, Leigh Halfpenny, James Botham, Leon Brown, Dan Lydiate, Joshua Macleod and Dewi Lake were all injured.
Jonker was the video referee for the opening Test between the Springboks and the Lions. He was called on to adjudicate on three Spring boks tries, two of which were ruled out. Warren Gatland was unhappy there was no contingency plan in place to ensure a neutral TMO for such a high-profile encounter.
Wales rugby team is a new powerhouse.
Nick Tompkins scored a controversial try for Wales against Australia in November. Referee Mike Adamson allowed the try to stand after checking the replays. Wallaby coach Dave Rennie was fuming after his side’s 29-28 defeat.
Wales are a rugby powerhouse reborn amid disaster, controversy and backlash. The Lions tour of South Africa was scarred by acrimony and bitterness off the field. Warren Gatland's Lions went down to a 2-1 series defeat.
Johnny McNicholl was a key player for Wales in the autumn international series. He started at full-back against New Zealand and South Africa and came off the bench to play a part in their win over Australia. The Scarlets player is in talks about signing a new contract.
New Zealand won 54-16 in Cardiff. WRU arranged the game outside the official Test window. England-based players like Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taulupe Faletau, Nick Tompkins and Callum Sheedy couldn't play.
Wales had six players sent off in the last year for foul play against their opponents. Peter O'Mahony, Zander Fagerson, Paul Willemse, Juan Cruz Mallia, Eroni Sau and Rob Valetini were all dismissed.
Dwayne Peel was set to join Cardiff from Ulster as attack coach. However, he was released and he is now the coach of the Scarlets. Matt Sherratt has returned to the Arms Park from Worcester to fill the backs coach vacancy.
Rassie is the rugby player of the year.
Rassie Erasmus has been rugby's man of the year. He was banned from all rugby for two months and banned for a year from involvement with the Springboks on match days for his video criticising the refereeing from Australia's Nic Berry after July's first Test defeat to the Lions.
Scarlets haven't played a game of rugby since October 22. They are making fresh calls for the rescheduling of their Bristol fixture. Their Boxing Day trip to the Arms Park was called off because of Covid cases in the Cardiff camp. The Scarlets are set to be hit by heavy financial losses through their home matches against the Ospreys, Dragons and Bristol having to take place behind closed doors.
Wayne Pivac's Wales team won the Six Nations title and came within seconds of completing the Grand Slam.
Pivac's Wales side were underdogs in the Six Nations and in their recent Champions Cup matches. Cardiff were without 42 players due to Covid quarantine, injuries and suspension. They managed to cobble together a team to take on Toulouse and Harlequins.
There was a mass brawl during the first league match between Gan Olympique and Avenir Bizanos in October. It was the result of a reckless tackle by one of the Bizzanos players.
W is for Wales Women. WRU announced it was going to offer some of its women internationals their first professional contracts. Nigel Walker was the performance director at the time. The announcement preceded a three-match autumn campaign which saw Wales put in entertaining, attack-focused performances.
There was a lot of disruption in rugby in Wales this Christmas. The entire Boxing Day programme of top-flight matches was postponed. There were also community club games also called off.
Dai Young re-joined Cardiff in the first week of 2021. He was confirmed as the club's permanent director of rugby in April. Next season, he will be joined at the Arms Park by his son Thomas.
Louis Rees-Zammit has been instrumental in Wales' Six Nations title triumph. He was selected for the Lions tour of South Africa and was short-listed for World Rugby's breakthrough player of the year award. Now he has also been named in the team of year by leading French sports publication L’Equipe.
