Some call it a glorious waste of time. Others simply go with waste of time.
But, hey, why not participate in the annual exercise of proving to your readers just how poor you are at guessing what will happen in the sports world?
Before I waste your time again, a quick look back at how my predictions for 2024 panned out (actually quite well by my recent standards).
The great calls
— The Crusaders did miss the Super Rugby top four. They finished ninth! Just a wonderful memory for life.
— Someone did spare us the agony of watching South Canterbury win a fourth straight Meads Cup. Thank you, Thames Valley.
— Nathan Smith did play for the Black Caps. Bless him.
— The Mystics did win the ANZ Premiership. Looks like the former netball writer has still got it, eh.
— The Boston Celtics did win the NBA title, and the Los Angeles Dodgers did win baseball’s World Series.
— Carlos Alcaraz did win two tennis slams.
— Manchester City did win the Premier League.
— Team New Zealand did retain the America’s Cup.
— Fury and Usyk did meet in a mega-fight (they actually met twice), and Usyk did win.
— New Zealand driver Liam Lawson did earn a permanent F1 seat for 2025.
The close calls
— The All Blacks would lose three of their 14 tests, and new All Blacks would be Fergus Burke, Ruben Love and Billy Harmon. They ended up losing (gasp) four tests. Love indeed earned his first cap but Burke (UK) and Harmon (Japan) have headed overseas.
— The Chiefs would beat the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final. Got the teams right, but the winner wrong.
— The Chiefs Manawa would win the Aupiki final. They got there but lost to the Blues women.
The shocking calls
— The Highlanders would miss out on the top eight. Me of little faith — they ended up a creditable sixth.
— Taranaki would go back-to-back in the NPC. They were decent in the regular season but dipped out in the quarterfinals.
— Otago would finish seventh in the NPC. Their poor run continued with ninth.
— Australia would win both the men’s and women’s T20 World Cups. India won the men’s tournament and a plucky little team called the White Ferns won the women’s title. Seriously, that happened.
— Not one of the men’s golf major winners I tipped actually won, and I got only one of the five women’s winners.
— The Brisbane Broncos would beat the Penrith Panthers in the NRL final. My remarkable Panthers, clearly inspired by my first visit to Penrith, won a fourth straight title.
— The Warriors would make the top four. Yeah, nah.
— New Zealand would win five gold medals at the Paris Olympics. Unbelievably, we came home with 10.
The fearless predictions
2. England will win the Women’s Rugby World Cup. The Black Ferns will dip out in the semifinals. Scotland will win the Six Nations, and the Lions will beat the Wallabies 2-1.
3. The Blues will go back-to-back in Super Rugby Pacific, beating the Brumbies in the final. Matatu will improve, reaching the Super Rugby Aupiki final, where they will be beaten by the Blues women.
4. Bay of Plenty will win the NPC, and Otago will finish seventh. Farah Palmer Cup champions will be Canterbury (Premiership) and Otago (Championship). Whanganui will win the Meads Cup, and North Otago will win the Lochore Cup.
5. Pakistan will win the Champions Trophy. The Black Caps will not make the semifinals. Rhys Mariu will be a Black Caps test opener by the end of the year. Australia will win the World Test Championship final.
7. Men’s domestic cricket champions will be Central Districts (Plunket Shield), Auckland (Ford Trophy) and the Otago Volts (Super Smash). And the mighty Otago Sparks will do the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and Super Smash women’s double.
8. The Pulse will win the ANZ Premiership, and the Steel will finish fourth.
9. Desperate not to jinx this, obviously — Liverpool will win the Premier League. They will also win the Carabao Cup. Chelsea will win the FA Cup, Barcelona will win the Champions League, and Real Madrid will win the Club World Cup. The Spanish women will win Euro 2025.
11. As much as I would love their miraculous run to continue, the Penrith Panthers will finally let someone else win the NRL title. The Storm will beat the Sharks in the grand final. The Warriors will finish 10th. Queensland will win the State of Origin series 2-1.
12. Jannik Sinner (two), Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz will win men’s tennis grand slams. Aryna Sabalenka will win three of the women’s slams but see her bid for perfection derailed by Coco Gauff at the French Open.
1 3. Men’s golf majors will be won by Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and Tyrell Hatton. Women’s majors will be won by Nelly Korda (two), Lydia Ko (two) and Lilia Vu.
14. McLaren driver Lando Norris will win the F1 drivers’ championship, and Ferrari will win the team title. Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson will each win a race.
15. Joseph Parker will suffer a narrow loss on points to Daniel Dubois in their boxing match next month. Dubois will then get demolished by Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout.
16. The United States will reclaim the Ryder Cup from Europe.
