The next 12 months could prove very fruitful on the rugby field as Ireland are serious contenders at the World Cup. Internationally, Irish rugby is in a very good place. We have depth in our squad, our age profile is close to perfect and in Joe Schmidt we have a very capable man at the helm. Timing is everything in life. Between here and the World Cup, we probably need three or four players to make the leap to world-class level. The Six Nations will be the perfect rehearsal for the World Cup, with England and France coming to Dublin. We can go to the World Cup with another championship bagged and right now Wales in the Millennium Stadium could be the key Grand Slam match. Injuries are the only potential blight on the scene. On the plus side, a fit again Sean O’Brien will seriously improve our pack, while a season of injury-free rugby could see Luke Fitzgerald fill Brian O’Driscoll’s boots.

Provincial nightmares

While our international rugby squad will hit the heights in 2015, both in the Six Nations and at the World Cup, provincially the game will continue to struggle. The PRO12 is the poorer cousin of the English Premiership and the French Top 14. That’s the way of the world when money calls the shots and our flagship sides of Leinster and Munster are finding it harder to compete. The marquee names once signed at the peak of their powers (Nacewa, Elsom, Contepomi, Howlett, etc) are now going to France for the very big bucks. It is only at the end of their careers that Ireland appears attractive. This will manifest itself in our failure to compete for the European Champions Cup in the short term. By the end of January we might have no Irish team left in the premier competition. Until we allow some outside investment in the provinces and alter the restrictions on overseas players, then a lack of success is inevitable. This might be a small price to pay for retaining control of the game but it’s a debate that will soon become more prominent.

All-Ireland glory

We will have new names on the All-Ireland trophies next September. We say this most years and it’s normally a safe bet. Retaining an All-Ireland title in the era of back doors and qualifiers has really only been open to Kilkenny hurlers and Kerry’s footballers (back in the mid-noughties). The Kingdom might have the Gooch back for next year but a lot of stars collided in 2014 for them to win and that doesn’t happen two years in a row. The luck always needed to win an All-Ireland tends to desert the following year. While the champions are still on the celebration and holiday circuit, all the rest have been at the coal face for two months, putting in the work. That’s a useful head start.

Comeback kings

This year could be the year of the comeback. Tommy Walsh is back from Australia and Colm Cooper will be like a new addition to an All-Ireland winning squad. The Dublin footballers and Clare hurlers will fit that profile too. This could a year when players, teams and managers reassert their class.

Football’s big guns

This year’s football championship will have a familiar look to it. By the time the dust settles, six of the last eight pick themselves: Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Donegal and Tyrone. The All-Ireland winners come from there – Dublin are the confident pick. Last year’s championship was an excellent one but it is hard to see who the surprise package might be this coming year. Unfortunately, the likes of Monaghan, Galway and Kildare have all shown signs of joining the top table but that big win, proper knockout scalp, has eluded them. This summer, Roscommon could be the team we all fall in love with. Perennial underdogs, they have made giant under-age strides in recent years and seem to be building the kind of senior team that could contend. Mayo will be vulnerable in Connacht this summer. They haven’t lost a game since 2010 in the province, but the Rossies might just catch them.

New men in charge

Donegal and Mayo are the two counties that will feel the most aggrieved after 2014. Both will feel the All-Ireland was there for them and Kerry stole it. Each have a decent case. A few months later and they both have new managerial set-ups and different voices at training. Very often that can bring immediate results. Mayo are in the most need. However, the instinct with these two counties is that batteries won’t recharge that quickly. Up north, it will be interesting to see how a less-intense preparation affects Donegal’s game, while out west Mayo will be Mayo, deeply frustrating but equally capable. Much as we’d like to see success for both in 2015, the smart money won’t be on either.

Hurling contenders

The team that wins the hurling All-Ireland in 2015 will have to go through Kilkenny, but go through them they will. I’d have Clare and Limerick at the head of the chasing pack. I’d fancy one of them to beat the Cats if either can get to an All-Ireland semi-final and of course they start the championship off proper when they meet in the first round of the Munster championship on the last Sunday in May. The losers of that game will be the strongest team in the qualifiers until the quarter-finals; the winners will face Tipp with a game under their belts. Limerick know they had Kilkenny on the rack, while Clare will be fully tuned in this summer. Both can play a significant part in the championship. I’d be looking here for the All-Ireland champions.

Make or break

Tipperary, Galway, Cork and Dublin are all in make or break hurling years. Eamon O’Shea’s last year at the helm is a challenge because Tipp have struggled to put back-to-back years together. They have the talent as always but, unlike Kilkenny, you never know what team will turn up. The hunch says they will not reach 2014 levels.

Galway reappointed Anthony Cunningham in a leap of faith his team have to repay. The Tribesmen have flattered to deceive for a number of years and another short summer will cause much soul-searching.

Cork reached an All-Ireland final and came within an inch of winning it two years ago. Last year they were Munster champions. By normal standards that is progress and they should be one of the All-Ireland favourites but the manner of their defeat to Tipperary clouds that. The draw has been kind – they should be good enough to beat Waterford and that means a Munster final and a place in the last six. It’s an All-Ireland final appearance or the year isn’t a good one for JBM.

In Dublin, Ger Cunningham has big shoes to fill in Anthony Daly. A first-year manager often gets a tune from a team and the Dubs could be the hurling surprise of 2015.

Wexford progress

While Wexford were the hurling story of last summer, emerging from Division 1B might be more important to them this year than championship progress. Still a bit behind the second level in Leinster, they are a year or two away from challenging for honours, but they need to be playing the top teams more often. Wexford have two U-21 Leinster titles in a row and have a serious team again at that grade. This is possibly where their silverware hopes lie in 2015. Clare’s time at the top at U-21 might be coming to an end, Wexford could pick up that mantle. Limerick will be on their heels.

Referee trouble

Kilkenny will struggle with referees in 2015. This could potentially be a very entertaining sideshow. Brian Cody’s post-All-Ireland comments most certainly ruffled feathers and referees are a sticky bunch. Even if officialdom seems to have drawn a line under the incident, I doubt referees have. The Cats play very physical game – one that Cody often refers to as “manly”. They straddle the line when it comes to the tackle; they prefer to be refereed in a laissez-faire manner. Nothing will be said publicly but don’t expect Kilkenny to get the rub of the green in the coming year. Very often that can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Shefflin retirement?

There is probably one more announcement of note to come from Kilkenny and that will be about Henry Shefflin’s intentions for the year. All logic points to him walking away from the county set-up. The host of retirements we have already heard about suggests that after Kilkenny’s gap year in 2013, when they didn’t get to play in Croke Park, the old gang came together and pledged to give it one more year. In that year they definitely minded themselves.

Tommy has called it a day, along with a few more, but JJ’s decision certainly shocked us. A contender for player of the year, Delaney looked his imperious best in 2014, but he is walking away. He was a starter that must be replaced, the rest were mainly options for Brian Cody this year.

Henry is sure to follow. It will signal the end of the best hurler we have seen. There’s a case to be made for Tommy, not to mention JJ, DJ and a few more, but Henry was an all-rounder who had everything. He was a leader of men. They won an All-Ireland without him this year and maybe that tells us how good an All-Ireland victory it was. He’ll deserve every plaudit that will go his way.

A future Kilkenny manager? Maybe in 20 years when Cody finally goes.