The Year in Sport Review

amongst other gripping matches.

Our reporter Jessica Creighton takes a look back at the year in sport.

Hello.

Welcome to the BBC Sports Centre for a look back at the year in sport.

After 2014 gave us the Ryder Cup, the football World Cup

and the Commonwealth Games, 2015 had a lot to live up to.

But as we're about to show you, it had a very good go.

# Ooh, I want the time of my life.

# Oh, baby.

# Ooh, give me the time of my life... #

Oh, yes!

An absolute belter!

England are ahead.

Wales will be in France next summer!

And New Zealand have defended the World Cup!

Brilliantly caught!

That is an outrageous catch by Ben Stokes!

Great Britain have done it in the most spectacular style.

Here comes Usain Bolt!

Usain Bolt!

He's saved his title!

He may have even saved his sport.

# Ooh, I want the time of my life.

# Oh, baby.

# Ooh, give me the time of my life... #

Jessica Ennis-Hill is back on top of the world.

But before the action comes politics, and it

was a dark year for football.

The sport's governing body, Fifa, came under fire after a catalogue

of corruption allegations.

Leading officials were arrested in dawn raids by US prosecutors.

However, Sepp Blatter was then controversially re-elected

as President, before stunningly stepping down

after 17 years, only days later.

Next, Swiss authorities investigated Blatter and

Uefa President Michel Platini, overpayments described as disloyal.

Both were suspended from football before Blatter was then implicated

in a $100 million bribery scandal.

A dark, dark year for Fifa.

But, sadly, corruption wasn't just restricted to football.

In November, amid shocking allegations of systematic doping,

cover-ups, collusion, bribery and extortion in Russian athletics,

a World Anti-Doping Agency report recommended the country be banned

from all athletics.

The sport's world governing body, the IAAF, obliged.

Tonight, our sport finds itself in a shameful situation.

That is why I can confirm that the council has overwhelmingly

voted, with immediate effect, to suspend the Russian Federation.

Yet Lord Coe's predecessor, Lamine Diack was also implicated

in the doping scandal and was investigated over allegations he

took payments to cover up cheating.

Back in August, however, the sport was showcased in the Bird's Nest in

Beijing for the World Championships.

In a vast city of around 20 million people, Great Britain stood out

from the crowd, finishing fourth on the medal table with four golds -

and all thanks to a terrific trio.

Mo looking both left and right.

Jess Ennis-Hill making it look very easy indeed.

Look at that!

He takes the lead.

Utterly brilliant, isn't she?

It's a mammoth jump!

Greg Rutherford has produced a beautiful jump.

Mo Farah, striking for gold again!

They've got nothing for him!

That is fantastic.

Mo Farah is best, Mo Farah is the world champion again.

Jessica Ennis-Hill is back on top of the world!

Rutherford completes his grand slam.

It's a fantastic five for Farah.

The greatest sportsman that Britain has ever had.

Three brilliant Brits doing the business for their country, and

Jessica Ennis-Hill's achievement was extraordinary, given she had only

given birth to her first child the year before and she only decided to

compete in Beijing a month before.

The mother of all comebacks.

Absolutely brilliant.

Storybook athletics.

It's been the most amazing year, as well, because I've got

my son and now I'm back here, on a global stage, with a global

title again, which is amazing.

While her performance was special, so was Usain Bolt's.

He defeated two-time drug cheat Justin Gatlin in the 100 metres,

won three titles and, in turn, became the most successful athlete

in history, with 11 world golds.

# Keep on with the force, don't stop

# Don't stop till you get enough

# Keep on with the force, don't stop

# Don't stop till you get enough

# Keep on with the force, don't stop

# Don't stop till you get enough. #

And Bolt gets there!

Usain Bolt!

Usain Bolt continues to go!

Usain Bolt wins it for Jamaica!

Bolt best in Beijing, then, and the only thing that could stop

him, really - that!

A Chinese cameraman on a Segway.

But there was no stopping Hannah Cockroft at the IPCC World

Championships for para-athletes.

Britain finished fourth on the medal table, with 13 golds,

and Cockcroft got three of them.

And with the next Paralympics and Olympics on the horizon, will there

be another British gold rush, just like there was here at London 2012?

Well, some of the likely medal contenders for Rio 2016 got

in their groundwork in 2015.

MUSIC: "Guava Samba" by Thomas Cameron Kincaid.

Plenty to look forward to in Rio, then, including

an Olympic debut for rugby union.

More recently, though, a World Cup on home soil was a major

talking point for the sport.

But before that came a classic Six Nations.

Three countries, Wales, Ireland and England, with three wins apiece,

went into the final round of matches with a chance of claiming the title.

All three teams won for the fourth time, and in handsome fashion.

Yet Ireland retained the title - just.

Such success in the World Cup was harder to come by, though.

At least Ireland, Wales and Scotland got to the quarterfinals.

For the hosts of the tournament, England,

rugby would reach a new low.

They lost twice here at Twickenham against a Wales side depleted

by injuries and eventual finalists Australia, failing to even get out

of their group.

Here's the story of those five weeks back in the autumn.

# These four lonely walls have changed the way I feel

# The way I feel

# Memories turn to dust

# Please don't bury us

# I got you, I got you

# Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'

# Runnin', runnin', runnin'

# Ain't runnin' from myself no more

# Together we'll win it all

# I ain't runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'

# Runnin', runnin', runnin'

# Ain't runnin' from myself no more

# I'm ready to face it all

# If I lose myself, I lose it all. #

New Zealand, the first side to ever retain a Rugby World Cup, then.

But just 18 days later, their irreplaceable captain

Richie McCaw retired.

And, on the same day, one of the greatest All Blacks ever

passed away, man-mountain and icon of the sport Jonah Lomu,

dying at the age of just 40.

Lomu, of course, famously scored four tries against England

in the 1995 World Cup, and the full fallout of their disastrous 2015

campaign was confirmed in November.

Stuart Lancaster resigns after England's worst ever

performance in the Rugby World Cup.

For the first time ever, they failed to reach the knockout

stages of the tournament, despite being the host nation.

In a statement, Stuart Lancaster said he would took responsibility

for the squad's performance.

But the RFU filled the void quickly, appointing Australian Eddie Jones

as the first foreign head coach of the English rugby union team.

Rugby league convert Sam Burgess took much of the criticism

for England's poor World Cup performance,

and he duly headed straight back to the 13-man game, only weeks

after the tournament ended.

Prior to that, Burgess had helped his now former club side Bath

reach the Premiership final, where they were defeated by Saracens.

In the Pro12, Glasgow Warriors became the new champions.

There was a new champion in rugby league's Super League, too.

In fact, there was only one team to talk about in 2015 - Leeds Rhinos.

Having already won the Challenge Cup, they added the

Super League Leader's Shield, too, and then the Grand Final.

Leeds win the treble!

What a way to finish a magical season.

Leeds legends Jamie Peacock and Kevin Sinfield going out in glory.

And in another glorious Premier League season, 975 goals

were scored in 380 matches.

And although Chelsea may have conceded the standout goal,

they were the standout team.

MUSIC: "Sax" by Fleur East.

And while Chelsea also won the League Cup last season,

things change quickly in football.

Just ask Jose Mourinho.

Seven months after winning the title, he was sacked.

Nine defeats in 16 league games left him nowhere to hide.

He'll be looking forward to a New Year, as will Liverpool.

They lost Steven Gerrard to Los Angeles, as well

as their manager, in October.

Brendan Rodgers sacked and replaced by one of the most cheerful

and charismatic men in football.

My mother maybe sits in front of the television

and watches this press conference.

And she's very proud.

I'm totally normal guy.

I'm the normal one, maybe?

Normal for Arsenal these days is winning the FA Cup.

Sanchez.

Sanchez has scored an absolute beauty.

Victory for the second year in a row as they thrashed

Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley.

Up in Scotland, the cup finals were much tighter affairs, as

Inverness Caledonian Thistle edged past Falkirk 2-1 to win the Scottish

Cup, their first major trophy.

There was, however, a much more familiar winner of the Scottish

League Cup and league title.

Celtic again doing the business.

On the international scene, things were less successful

for Scottish football.

They failed to qualify for Euro 2016 in France, which was

even more disappointing given the success the neighbours had.

Under the leadership of manager Michael O'Neill,

Northern Ireland reached their first major tournament in 34 years.

Wales went one better than that, Gareth Bale's goals got them back

in the big time for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.

And thanks to a super effort, the Republic of Ireland will also be

in France after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-offs.

By then, England had long qualified.

Plenty to celebrate for the captain Wayne Rooney, who also became

his country's record goal-scorer.

There were much sadder times for football and the world late

England eventually knocked out of the semifinal stage, then,

in the cruellest of manners.

And while the USA would go on to win the World Cup,

the image of women's football in Britain seemed to shift massively

as a result of England's efforts.

Look, Laura Bassett's name is on that

score sheet, but she's epitomised this England team this tournament.

She's been courageous, strong, kept this group together.

She didn't deserve that.

What have you just said to the girls?

Look, it's OK to cry.

But ever the professionals, less than three weeks after

their World Cup exit, Laura Bassett and her fellow Lionesses were back

playing in the FA Cup Final as Chelsea defeated Notts County.

The Blues matched their male counterparts

by securing the league title, too.

The double done, cheers for Chelsea.

as the controversial Tyson Fury, who dressed up as Batman earlier

In one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history, WBA,

WBO and IBF champion Vladimir Klitschko was beaten

for the first time in 11 years.

And that is something to brag about.

Put your hands together for the eighth wonder of the world!

I think he deserves a standing ovation!

Get up and bow!

Get up and bow to my son, everyone of you!

Give him a bow!

And while Tyson Fury and his views have been talked about

a lot recently, boxing's biggest name remains Floyd Mayweather.

He won the so-called fight of the century against Manny Pacquiao in

May and smiled all the way to the bank in 2015, to remain the best

paid sportsperson in the world.

But not far behind Mayweather on sport's rich list is

Formula One's Lewis Hamilton.

He begins a new ?100 million contract with Mercedes next season.

But the Briton continues to prove his worth, joining

Sir Jackie Stewart as a three-time Formula One world champion.

And not only did Hamilton retain the world title in 2015,

he completely dominated.

# I need that

# Ground beneath my feet to feel that

# Ground beneath my feet

# I need that

# Ground beneath my feet to feel that

# Ground beneath my feet

# I need that # I need that

# Ground beneath my feet to feel that

# Ground beneath my feet

# I need that

# Ground beneath my feet to feel that

# I need that

# I need that home, I'm coming home, I'm coming home

# Cos it's life that I've been living in my home

# Home, I'm coming home, I'm coming home

# Cos I'm tired of being out here on my own

# I'm coming home

# Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

# I'm coming home, oh, yeah

# All of this time I've been livin' it up

# All that's left is rubble and dust

# Oh, oh, I'm coming home... #

Lewis Hamilton has won his third World Championship!

HAMILTON ON TEAM RADIO: This is the greatest moment of my life.

But while Hamilton won with three races still remaining, the MotoGP

season was a far closer call.

Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi had led all season, but was

punished for kicking off another rider in the penultimate race.

And he duly lost the title at the finale to Yamaha team-mate

Jorge Lorenzo.

And remaining on two wheels, for an historic Tour de France,

as Chris Froome became the first Briton to win it twice.

And what a battle it was for Froome.

Not only did his exceptional abilities cause French TV,

without any proof, to imply he was a drugs cheat, but the Briton was

also subjected to attacks while riding, being spat at and having

urine thrown at him by spectators.

To overcome that and three weeks of mental and physical torture to

win makes Froome's achievements all the more special.

It's been amazing, amazing experience,

actually having done it and come out successful, the way we did.

Of course, it's an amazing feeling.

And from the world's greatest road cyclist to the world's most famous

horse race, the Grand National.

Many Clouds won the 168th running of it to give jockey Leighton Aspell

his second consecutive victory.

There will be no more victories for AP McCoy, though.

After a glorious career spanning more than two decades,

20 champion jockey titles and 4,357 winners, it all came to an

end here, at Sandown Park in April.

The man who broke every record in the book -

and every bone in his body - will not be forgotten by the sport.

And nor will Stuart Bingham in his sport.

He won the 2015 World Snooker Championship, completing

an astonishing transition from journeyman to King of the Crucible.

And while the world title is snooker's biggest prize, surely

the Ashes are test cricket's.

In 2015, England met Australia again in a dramatic series.

Before that came an even more dramatic shake-up which

began after England were embarrassed and eliminated early in the

Cricket World Cup by Bangladesh.

ECB managing director Paul Downton duly left his role and was replaced

by former captain Andrew Strauss, who then sacked head coach Peter

Moores and told Kevin Pietersen, who had been scoring runs galore for

Surrey, that he was not part of England's plans.

And Strauss still had work to do, a new head coach was needed.

Australian Trevor Bayliss was the man.

His first task, try to win back the Ashes.

And it was no problem, as the devastating duo of England's

record wicket taker James Anderson and Stuart Broad did the damage.

MUSIC: "Intoxicated" by Martin Solveig GTA

# Let's dance

# Let's dance, no time for romance

# You got me intoxicated

# You got me intoxicated... #

England!

A superb summer for Alistair Cook's side, then, winning the Ashes 3-2.

And they've now upped sticks to South Africa to take on

the world's number-one test team.

Top of the tree in the women's game are Australia.

Like their male counterparts, they travelled to England for the Ashes.

They have much more success, though, winning back the urn from

Charlotte Edwards' side.

In women's golf, the major team competition is the Solheim Cup, and

it was won back by America in what was an incredible year for US golf.

One major in the women's game, and three out of four in the men's.

Zach Johnson won the 144th Open Championship at St Andrews.

But intimidatingly talented Texan Jordan Spieth dominated the sport.

The then 21-year-old won the first two majors of the year,

including a record-breaking victory at the Masters.

Spieth also took the world number one spot from Rory McIlroy, who will

surely have his hands full in 2016.

Andy Murray certainly had his hands full in 2015, on and off the court.

More on Murray in a moment.

The past 12 months in the women's game can be summed up

in a simple sentence.

Williams was wonderful - Serena winning three majors.

For the men, Djokovic dominated.

82 victories and just six defeats for the Serbian

as he also won three grand slams.

But what of that man Murray?

Well, he came close in the majors, including losing in the Australian

Open final - to Djokovic, of course - while his brother Jamie got to two

grand slam doubles finals.

However, the Murrays had their attentions fixed

on another prize, the Davis Cup.

Having beaten France here in an epic at Queen's Club, as well as the USA

and Australia in Glasgow, they then travelled to Belgium for the final,

where they brought this cup home for the first time in 79 years.

Andy Murray plays on home soil for the first time since 2011.

The return of Andy Murray has been triumphant.

James Ward brings Glasgow to its feet!

Triumph for the Great Britain Davis Cup team.

The Americans beaten.

First set to France.

Unbelievable character, that.

Great Britain are in the Davis Cup semifinal.

Absolutely pivotal doubles.

We're going five sets here in Glasgow.

# We used to have it all but now's our curtain call... #

The Murrays win! 2-1 Great Britain!

# Wave out to the crowd, and take our final bow...

GB are in the Davis Cup final.

A monumental effort.

# At least we stole the show... #

Welcome to this historic occasion.

Bet you thought you'd never see the day again.

One down, two to go. Stepping up again for his country.

The Murrays have won and they have inched Great Britain closer.

Two number ones squaring up.

One set away from more tennis history.

Great Britain have done it in the most spectacular style!

The Davis Cup is on its way back.

We'll all remember this year for the rest of our lives,

regardless of what happens in the rest of any of our careers.

Nothing may ever top this now.

And what a fitting end to a vintage year of sport the Davis Cup was.

Murray will soon have to forget about it, though, what with

a first child due in February.

But can he win another major in 2016, too?

There's that possibility and much more to look forward to

in the coming year, including the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio.

But, for now, thanks for watching the 2015 Year In Sport, and we'll

see you again in 12 months' time.

Goodbye.

Hello. This is Breakfast, with Roger Johnson and Naga Munchetty.

Flooding across wide areas of the North of England leaves homes