Given what they achieved throughout the old year, perhaps only Mary Earps and Pep Guardiola had reason to ring in the new one with more reluctance than Damian Penaud.
France may have lost the Grand Slam to Ireland and the World Cup to South Africa but their wing for all seasons touched down over the course of 2023 with a strike rate during a calendar year surpassed only in the professional era by a pair of All Blacks.
Joe Rococoko scored 17 tries in 12 Tests during his debut year in 2003, not a single one against anyone below the Six Nations and Rugby Championship. Hat-tricks against France ...