There were three new national coach appointments among the big eight nations, and there was the continued emergence of Argentina as a rugby force, culminating in their magnificent first-ever win at Twickenham in November.

Going back a little further, who can forget the emotion of Munster's Heineken Cup final triumph last May, or the extraordinary collapse of Wales' Grand Slam-winning management team?

Below is the story - or stories - of 2006, month-by-month. We hope you enjoy, and here's to another great year for the game: Rugby World Cup year 2007!

JANUARY:

2006 begins with a couple of cold and muddy Guinness Premiership and Celtic League fixtures, before everyone's attention switches to the resumption of the Heineken Cup in the middle of the month. Biarritz signal their European intentions by beating Ulster in Belfast (the latter's first home European loss in five years), whilst the 2004 champions, Wasps, see their title hopes dashed by Toulouse in France. Two-times champions Leicester Tigers secure their quarter-final spot with an away win over Clermont Auvergne - including a stunning Tom Varndell hat-trick - joining hot favourites Toulouse, Biarritz, Perpignan, Leinster, Munster, Bath and Sale Sharks in the quarter-finals. Back in the National League One, meanwhile, a team by the name of Harlequins records four more wins as their push back towards England's elite continues unabated.

FEBRUARY:

February sees the start of the 2006 Six Nations and the beginning of the inaugural Super 14. The Six Nations starts off well enough for world champions England with a 47-13 win over Wales - replacement Lawrence Dallaglio is one of their try-scorers as he comes out of international retirement - but France are shocked 20-14 by a resurgent Scotland outfit at Murrayfield the following day. Scotland prove their win over France was no fluke by beating auld enemy England at home three weeks later, while France oscillate between the sublime and the sub-standard in their victories over Ireland and Italy, twice being booed by their own fans. But the biggest news of the month is the shock resignation of Wales' Grand Slam-winning coach from the year before, Mike Ruddock, under a hail of claims and counter-claims of poor management, player revolt, and back-stabbing plots. Australian Scott Johnson takes over, only to watch his team fall apart in Dublin. Back in the Southern Hemisphere, the "new and improved" Super 14 - not too different from the Super 12, we might add - is ticking along smoothly enough with new boys, the Western Force, scoring a try against the Brumbies on their tournament debut, and the South African teams dropping a stack of early points at home. New Zealand's teams and the Brumbies and Waratahs make the early running.

MARCH:

England lurch from bad to worse, smashed 31-6 in Paris by the French before losing 24-28 at home to Ireland in a thriller, with Ireland taking the triple crown in the process. The Six Nations title goes to France though, whose final day victory in Cardiff is enough. Italy lose at home to Scotland on the final day and collect the wooden spoon, but that is tempered by the gaining of their first point away from Rome, after an 18-18 draw with Wales in Cardiff. The Welsh, Grand Slam winners in 2005, finish fifth, their only victory aided by an early red card to Scotland lock Scott Murray back in February. Domestically, Sale keep their charge going at the top of the Premiership, beating London Irish in Reading, while Leeds are rooted to the bottom having failed to muster a single point at Wasps. Ulster, Leinster, and the Scarlets keep up their Celtic League race for glory, and the usual suspects: Stade Français, Biarritz, Toulouse, and Perpignan, are making the running in France.

APRIL:

The Heineken Cup quarter-finals produce their usual cocktail of tries and tension, with Biarritz and Bath grinding out nerve-wracking wins over Sale and Leicester respectively, while Munster and Leinster set up an all-Ireland semi-final. Leinster's 41-35 victory over Toulouse in Toulouse is hailed as one of the greatest team performances ever in the competition. Biarritz grind out a tryless win over Bath to make the final, while Munster's pack ensures that Leinster are unable to repeat their heroics, taking the Munstermen to their third final. In possibly the greatest Premiership match of all time, London Irish beat Wasps 37-56 at the Causeway, leaving Wasps' play-off prospects uncertain. Leeds are relegated from the Premiership, and Toulon are relegated from the Top 14. Harlequins complete their formalities in National Division One to re-join the Premiership in place of Leeds. Gareth Jenkins is appointed Wales coach.

MAY:

The conclusion of tournaments everywhere. Wasps do sneak into the Premiership play-offs, courtesy of a fantastic win away at Gloucester, but are well-beaten by Sale in the semi-finals. London Irish are also unable to repeat the heroics of Wycombe, as Leicester produce a superb performance in the other semi-final. The Heineken Cup finally goes back to Munster, after the Irish triumph 23-19 over Biarritz on one of rugby's most emotionally-charged occasions in Cardiff on May 20. Peter Stringer's opportunist second-half try makes the difference. A day later, James Forrester's extra-time grubber and chase try gives Gloucester the European Challenge Cup in a thrill-a-minute 36-34 win over London Irish. Five days later, David Humphreys' last-minute drop goal, which rebounds off both posts before trickling over the bar, gives Ulster the Celtic crown after a 17-16 win over the Ospreys. May 27 sees the Crusaders take the Super 14 title, with Casey Laulala's try the decisive moment in a 19-12 win over the Hurricanes, but few see it through the Christchurch fog that renders the game a near-farce at times! Then Sale Sharks cap their fine English season with a 45-20 romp over Leicester Tigers in the Guinness Premiership final at Twickenham. A day later, a patchwork England team - minus the Sale and Leicester contingent beats the Barbarians 46-19 at Twickenham, but nobody is fooled, and the team leaves for Australia under a cloud of criticism, and with the RFU and Premier Rugby seething at each other once again. The league section of the Top 14 ends, with Pau joining Toulon in relegation. Montauban are promoted.

JUNE:

The last of the domestic tournaments in the north is wrapped up by Biarritz, who produce a stunning second half display to beat Toulouse 40-13 in the Top 14 final in Paris. Albi join Montauban in the Top 14 after winning a play-off final over Dax, and Italy get three teams in the Heineken Cup for the first time ever, after Overmach Parma stun the Dragons in Newport. Elsewhere it is Test series and testing times, not least for England, who are soundly thrashed twice in Australia in John Connolly's first two matches in charge of the Wallabies. A young Wales squad is also well-beaten twice in Argentina in Gareth Jenkins's first two matches in charge. Scotland are twice valiant in defeat in South Africa, but not as valiant as Ireland who push the All Blacks all the way twice in New Zealand, before their tired team is well-beaten in Australia. Italy are stunned by Fiji in Lautoka. Most of the Northern Hemisphere teams blame poor results on the long northern season, but paradoxically the country with the most murderous domestic schedule of all, France, is the only country to win on tour, thrashing South Africa 36-26 in Cape Town. Argentina are literally inches away from upsetting the All Blacks in Buenos Aires, knocking the ball on a metre from the line with the score 19-25 in the final play of the game. In Canada, the New Zealand Maoris wrap up the expanded Churchill Cup, but the big story is England Saxons' capitulation to both Scotland A and Ireland A. New Zealand's dominance continues at 'junior' level too, with the Junior All Blacks claiming the Pacific Five Nations crown. There was also the Nations Cup in Portugal involving Italy A, Argentina A, Russia and Portugal. It was a busy time.

JULY:

The three southern super powers get stuck into each other. Soft Test matches are over and tough competition, the Super 14 distilled, is activated. There is a change this year as the sides play each other three times rather than the simple home-and-away formula of the past, which means, in eventual practical terms, more victories than usual for the All Blacks. Abject in Cape Town against France in June, the Springboks go Down Under and sink. They are at their worst when the Wallabies wallop them by a record score, 49-0 in Brisbane. They then go to Wellington and are well beaten by the All Blacks before coming back to Sydney where they just lose 20-18 when Stirling Mortlock keeps his nerve and kicks the winning conversion, a difficult kick. The IRB gets another new tournament going, with Asia Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos. In Africa the Confederation of African Rugby continues giving players a chance and there are World Cup qualifiers in North America, South America and the Pacific. Eventually Argentina, Canada and the USA qualify for the World Cup with Uruguay getting a chance through répechage. In Oceania Fiji and Samoa again qualify with a répechage chance for Tonga. In France the home side win the IRB's Under-21 World Championship when they beat South Africa in the final. In the South there are other competitions. In Argentina the National Club Championship gets going and then the provincial championship, in New Zealand the revamped New Zealand representative competition, the Air New Zealand Cup which includes the occasional Ranfurly Shield match, and in South Africa the Currie Cup.

AUGUST:

The All Blacks beat the Wallabies three times, though the Australians are competitive for the second two tests. The All Blacks then head off to South Africa and add to the Springboks' embarrassment in Loftus Versfeld. The All Blacks are easy winners of the revamped Tri-Nations before even going to South Africa for the away leg though. In France the tough Top 14 started again with Biarritz setting out to retain their title, but it is Stade Français who set the pace with four straight wins. The Currie Cup holds all agog, hailed as one of the best tournaments for years, but that is tempered by the news that the format was being re-considered for 2007.

SEPTEMBER:

September is the month that finally puts the 2006 Tri-Nations to bed after South Africa end their disastrous campaign on a high note, edging out New Zealand 21-20 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium - the oddest venue for a Springbok-All Black Test ever. Ostensibly it is an effort to take rugby to the grassroots who largely remain dormant during the expensive venture. This surprise win brings the All Blacks' run of 15 consecutive wins to a close and ends South Africa's record of five consecutive losses since re-admission. A week later, the Boks follow up by beating Australia 24-16 at Ellis Park, but they still collect the tournament's wooden spoon. The ninth month of the year introduces the Magners League with the new cider-manufacturing sponsors adding some fizz and much-needed cash to the Celtic tournament scene. Edinburgh, however, are fizzing enough already and get their campaign off to a fiery start, losing only one match in September. The Guinness Premiership kicks off with Leicester clawing out revenge over Sale Sharks for the final defeat in May, coming out 35-23 victors this time round at Welford Road. In the Southern Hemisphere, South Africa's domestic competition - the Currie Cup - continues to feed the rugby-mad public with close entertaining pool games that fittingly culminate with just two points separating the fourth-placed Sharks from the table-topping Cheetahs. The Air New Zealand Cup reaches Round Two where North Harbour topple Canterbury 27-17 and win the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in their short history. Australia's new competition: the Australian Provincial Championship, sees the Brumbies - minus all their Wallabies, as all the teams are - record a convincing 42-17 win over the Queensland Reds at Viking Park, Canberra, in the final.

OCTOBER:

October brings the much anticipated four weeks of quarter-final, semi-final and final action of the Air New Zealand Cup and Currie Cup respectively. Wellington pick up late form in the Air New Zealand Cup and brush past Canterbury in the quarter-finals and Auckland in the semis to face tournament favourites Waikato in the Final. The Mooloo Men hold off a late Lions comeback to lift the trophy and become the first Air New Zealand Cup champions after a 37-31 win. In South Africa, the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs meet for their third consecutive Currie Cup Final in a row after dispatching Western Province and the Sharks with ease in the semi-finals. The marathon Final ends in a pulsating 28-all draw after extra-time at a packed Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein. It is the first time a Currie Cup Final goes into extra-time, and despite the draw, will go down as one of the greatest finals ever played in Currie Cup history. In France, a shock defeat to newly-promoted Montauban ends the Stade Français run of nine wins on the trot. Spirits are high all over Europe with the kick-off of the annual Heineken Cup tournament that sees the giants of French rugby, Toulouse, crumble to a 30-3 defeat to Ulster, while Gloucester are embarrassed at home by Agen. The Challenge Cup, little sister to the Heineken Cup, kicks off the same weekend. There are a few eyebrow-raisers among the announced touring squads, with Australia centre Matt Giteau pencilled in as scrum-half for the tour of Europe due to the sudden shortage of half-backs available for selection. New Zealand centre Conrad Smith gets the nod for the All Blacks after only playing a handful of matches since breaking his leg in the Super 14, but despite a magnificent Currie Cup, there is no such luck for South Africa flankers Kabamba Floors and Luke Watson, and Jake White faces a barrage of criticism.

NOVEMBER:

With the November internationals dominating the fixture list this is a big month for rugby the world over. It is in many ways a black month, the All Blacks reasserting their reputation as the world's best, surpassing their heroics of Paris 2004 with a 47-3 obliteration of France in Lyon. Black days in England too, after a record defeat at home to the All Blacks, England stumble and fall twice more at Twickenham - including a first-ever defeat to Argentina - leading to Andy Robinson's departure at the end of the series after a long and acrimonious 'resignation' process. For Argentina, it is a double-edged sword. Captain Agustin Pichot tells his team to take ten seconds and ruminate on the significance of what they have achieved, but the Union still doesn't budge on how to compensate the players, and the players walk out of the celebration banquet in disgust. Jake White of South Africa almost follows suit, but the SARU gave him a reprieve leading up to the World Cup, after the Boks drop-kick their way past England at Twickenham in the final November Test. Elsewhere Ireland show their worth with comprehensive wins over Australia and South Africa, while Wales are patchy against Australia, cohesive against the Pacific Islanders, and blown away against New Zealand. Away from the international scene Bristol continue to set the pace in the Premiership whilst Worcester finally win a game at the ninth time of asking with a stunning comeback display against Saracens. The Magners League takes a back seat during the international period, with only two rounds played, but it is enough for Ulster to stay top, pushed all the way by an impressive Scarlets outfit.

DECEMEBER:

The headlines are dominated by England as they stepp up the search for their new head coach, and they don't look too far with Brian Ashton filling the void. On the field the Heineken Cup is back with a bang, the Scarlets hogging the limelight with back-to-back victories over the once mighty Toulouse, including a stunning comeback at the Stade Ernest Wallon which sent the thrice-champions crashing out. Leicester finally claim top spot in the Premiership, although they don't hold it for long, ending victims of their own errors, well, Andy Goode's to be precise, as they suffer a first Boxing Day defeat in over 35 years at the hands of London Irish, and relinquish pole position back to Bristol. The Magners Christmas schedule proves eventful for the Welsh as Martyn Williams is dismissed for head-butting (although his suspension does not eclipse the Six Nations schedule) and lock Ian Evans picks up a shoulder injury ruling him out of the Six Nations, and possibly the Rugby World Cup. And on the final day of the year Lansdowne Road hosts its final game of rugby before a re-vamp, when Leinster take on Ulster in the Magners League.

Happy 2007!