As a rugby World Cup year begins, Iain 'Mystic' Morrison looks into his odd-shaped crystal ball . . .

The Six Nations is just around the corner, the Word Cup kicks off in September and the Heineken Cup comes to the boil well before then. To save you scratching your head, your correspondent has peered into the crystal ball with bleary eyes and come up with five predictions for the year ahead.

Clubs Catching Countries

There are increasing signs that the club game is catching up on the spectacle of international fixtures in rugby just as it has in football.

For one, there are far more competitive clubs at the top of the European rankings than there are countries, and, secondly, players are increasingly turning their backs on national squads to extend their club careers, with Jonny Wilkinson the highest profile figure to ignore England's warning about playing in France and sign an extension with Toulon. It's understandable, since Toulon use him so much better than England. He has just made the Midi Olympic "Top 14 Dream Team" to prove it, but the trend is worrying.

While some national teams struggle to attract fans, the Heineken Cup goes from strength to strength and who, in all honesty, can differentiate between the best of the club game and a mediocre Six Nations match?

All Blacks to Triumph on Home Soil

It is one of the oddities of international rugby that an All Blacks team that sweeps all before it between World Cups inevitably comes a cropper during the big one itself. Scotland lasted longer than New Zealand in RWC'07, if that helps you comprehend the magnitude of their problem.

That sorry run of failure will end this year at RWC'11. England kept faith with Clive Woodward after failing in 1999 and now New Zealand are set to reap the rewards of sticking with Graham "Ted" Henry when the world was rooting for Robbie Deans.

Henry's team can now play any which way they please and still remain favourites to come out on top. They can match the brute physicality of the Springboks up front and they are the equal of the Aussies with the ball in hand. Moreover, the draw favours the home team, with the Kiwis sure to be tested by the French after over-running Scotland's second XV back in 2007. The hosts are not scheduled to meet Australia, the only team to beat them this year, until the final. Henry's main concern will be at fly-half where Dan Carter has no real back-up, so no prizes for guessing who the opposition will target.

Scotland to Qualify for the Quarter-finals

The Scots have never failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup since that inaugural event back in 1987 and they will qualify again this year, although in which position it's difficult to say. Those twin wins in Argentina do not guarantee that the Scots will outmuscle the Pumas in Christchurch but they do mean that Andy Robinson's men go into that game with a psychological edge.

Pool B is fascinating, with England in the mix as well, and while the Scots could finish third they could equally well top the group and avoid a quarter-final against New Zealand that will almost certainly spell the end of the road. There is every chance that the three top teams (Argentina, England and Scotland) will all take points off each other, leaving qualification to be decided on which team does best against the so-called minnows of the group, Romania and Georgia, although the Irish know better than to dismiss the latter after being taken to the wire in 2007.

Andy Robinson Appointed to Coach the Lions

The composite side won't tour Australia until 2013 but the coach will be announced shortly after the Six Nations to give him a decent run at the job, and Scotland's favourite Englishman is the obvious candidate, although he will need another respectable showing in the Six Nations to cement his refurbished reputation.

Ian McGeechan has given wonderful service that won't be matched in our lifetime but it's time to move onwards and Bath's less-than-glorious exit from the Heineken Cup at the hands of Ulster suggests that the years are beginning to catch up with him.

Robinson knows many of the England squad almost as well as his own Scots and other Welsh/Irish players from his time as Lions assistant coach in 2001 and 2005. In fact he has more Lions experience than anyone else with the exception of McGeechan. He also has the benefit of not being foreign, because while Graham Henry did a decent job when the Lions last toured Oz, the feeling persists that a native is preferable.

Would Gordon McKie prevent Robinson from going or, more likely, use the freedom to coach the Lions as an incentive to persuade the coach to extend his stint with Scotland beyond March 2012?

Heineken Cup Will Go to a Past Winner

Just like in football, the elite of the European club game are pretty much set in stone, delineated by financial imperatives as much as anything else. Two past winners - Toulouse and Northampton - boast the only unbeaten records in this season's competition to date, although the Scarlets, relative paupers from west Wales, head pool five. Big-money outfits Leinster, Biarritz and Toulon top the others.

Increasingly the Heineken Cup is about the depth of the squad and, when teams like Toulouse can call upon a bench full of seasoned international players, the result (or results) is all too predictable.

Sonny Bill Williams to fight Gavin Henson

It's an alluring prospect and you have to believe that someone, somewhere would put the money up. Hell, I'd contribute to the purse myself, but the perma-tanned one is at least one weight division below the Kiwi and you can't see him risking those good looks in the ring.

Craig Chalmers becomes a referee

On the basis that if you can't beat them then join them "Chic" opts to take a course in whistle-blowing and is astonished by how many laws the game actually has!

Government Realises the Importance of Sport to Society

...and to prove it the Scottish Government in conjunction with Edinburgh City Council builds a huge sports complex on the western edge of the city including a 20,000-seater stadium that will be shared between Edinburgh Rugby and Hearts.

Martin Johnson Begs Cipriani to Return

After a storming Super 15 season with the Melbourne Rebels, the England manager gets down on bended knee and begs Danny Cipriani to return to England. The fly-half replies that his September diary is block-booked with modelling engagements.

An End to Cheating

A Truth and Reconciliation conference is led by Leicester and Munster whereby they renounce synchronised cheating, brazen gamesmanship, time wasting, barracking match officials, antagonising the opposition and boring the pants off spectators. The two European heavyweights apologise unconditionally for besmirching union's good name.