British and Irish Lions, Lionesses, the Ashes and Sir Andy Murray. And Russia... sport to look out for in 2017

Although there are no major men’s international football tournaments this year, the world of sport has plenty of titanic clashes to offer

The British and Irish Lions tour New Zealand in 2017, four years after beating Australia (Getty)

It feels like an eternity since a year passed by without some sort of World Cup, European Championship or Olympic Games dominating the sporting calendar. The last time it happened, rugby union took centre stage, and in 2017 it will do so again when the British and Irish Lions return to New Zealand, with the scars of their last, ill-fated tour there still painfully open.

Every four years, something unique happens in the oval-ball world as the four home nations unite to take on the best that the southern hemisphere has to offer, and it just so happens to coincide in a year that has no major football tournament, no cricket world cup and no summer or winter Olympic Games.

The fact that this year’s tour is against the world champion All Blacks makes it just about the biggest tour possible in rugby union, and England’s unbeaten 2016 – not to mention Ireland’s stunning victory over New Zealand in Chicago last month – just adds to the enormity of this year’s Lions tour that kicks off at the start of June and runs through to the second week of July.

England may still be unbeaten under head coach Eddie Jones by the time he hands his players over to long-time rival Warren Gatland in the summer, with the red rose due to defend their Six Nations crown from February. It’s early days, but all signs point to a belter of a showdown in Dublin on 18 March when Ireland and England collide, and if the tournament goes to form we should have a Grand Slam decider on our hands. That said, the tournament rarely goes to form.

Away from the 15-man game and to the squared circle, as 2017 promises to be one of the biggest years in boxing in recent memory. We already know that Anthony Joshua will bid to become Britain’s second unified heavyweight world champion in as many years when he takes on fallen king Wladimir Klitschko in late April in what will be a record-breaking fight at Wembley stadium.

But the year gets off with a bang as both James DeGale and Carl Frampton – arguably the star of 2016 – defend their world titles in January, DeGale with the chance to add the WBC super middleweight title to his IBF version while Frampton gives Leo Santa Cruz a chance to win back his WBA featherweight belt. A domestic dust-up between fierce rivals Amir Khan and Kell Brook is also on the cards and Tyson Fury should return once he conquers his demons, while away from these shores, it’s almost inconceivable that Floyd Mayweather Jr will take another 12 months out of the ring in his supposed retirement. The question for Floyd though remains who will be the right man to become victim No 50, as you can bet your bottom dollar he won’t return in a fight where he risks defeat.

Frampton rematches with Santa Cruz in January (Getty)

For once, the ‘beautiful game’ takes a backseat. Chelsea are already tipped to win the Premier League thanks to their dominant form of late and we’re not even in the second half of the season yet, while the Champions League already looks a tough ask for Arsenal, Manchester City and Leicester once the knockout stages begin in February.

With no major tournament on the cards this year, prying eyes will focus on the Confederations Cup, the precursor to the 2018 World Cup. Like it’s big brother, the Confederations Cup will take place in Russia, scene of the most damning drug cover-ups ever seen in sport that was exposed over the course of 2016 and raised questions over Russia’s suitability to host any tournament (this after Fifa were accused of corruption in awarding the nation the rights to the World Cup back in 2010).

Any repeat of the fan violence seen during Euro 2016 will (Getty)

But doping and corruption is just the half of it. The likes of Germany, Chile, Mexico and Portugal will head to Russia as Confederation or World Cup champions hoping to avoid the ugly hooliganism that marred Euro 2016, where Russian thugs repeatedly attacked fans from other countries and led to the disgraceful scenes witnessed in Marseille. If the tournament passes by without incident, then Russia will benefit hugely from the World Cup the following year. Don’t count on it.

England’s men’s side will continue their qualification campaign for the World Cup under Gareth Southgate, while the women’s team have the chance once again to take centre stage when they compete in the European Championships in July with the aim of building on the brilliant third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup. A final appearance is not beyond Mark Sampson’s side, and with the tournament being staged in the Netherlands at much friendlier hours for British viewers, expect a whopping reaction if the Lionesses go all the way.

Mark Sampson will lead England at the Women's European Championship (Getty) (2015 Getty Images)

To cricket, and England have plenty of work to do. They’ll return to India to try and respond after the 4-0 Test series whitewash when they face-off in the One-Day International series, while the summer brings with it the daunting programme of a five-Test and three-test series against South Africa and West Indies respectively. The Women’s World Cup gets underway at the end of June, again with England harbouring realistic hopes of a final appearance at the very least.

But there’s no looking beyond the end of the year as England return to Australia for the Ashes Series, with the 2013/14 5-0 whitewash looming large in their history. The question already though is will Alastair Cook lead England on that series? His chances are slim.

There are two sports though that Britain can already expect success from in 2017, and that comes on the court and on the track. The tennis year begins in Melbourne in January with Sir Andy Murray on top of the world – the rankings, that is – and his battle with Novak Djokovic – combined with the return of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – is guaranteed to be an enthralling one.

Andy Murray begins 2017 as world No 1 and with a knighthood (Getty)

And so to the world of Formula One, where the season will begin – also in Melbourne – with the unusual absence of the reigning world champion. With Nico Rosberg putting his feet up after retirement, Lewis Hamilton is an almost nailed-on bet to be world champion in 2017, unless his still-to-be-named teammate can spring a surprise.

But after the surprises, both good and bad, of 2016, we could do with 12 months of calm, predictability and a return to the formbook. But what’s the fun in that?