It's that time of year again and in what is now surely a tradition to rival the turkey, the tree and all the trimmings, we're delighted to herald the return the ESPNscrum Festive Countdown for your amusement.

Once again, we'll be counting down the days until the big one with an assortment of trivia and novelties to brighten your day - sadly, chocolate not included. Check out our latest offering below and be sure to check back tomorrow for your latest dose of festive fun!

All Blacks hit top Gear against Ireland

All Blacks winger Julian Savea may have hogged the headlines this past season but his fellow speedster Hosea Gear scored arguably the New Zealand's best try of the year. His effort in his side's third Test demolition of Ireland in June was all about power and pace. The 28-year-old got on the end of a tremendous offload from Conrad Smith following an overthrown Ireland lineout, and raced down the left touchline, leaving his opposite number for dead. Gear then bulldozed his way past Keith Earls to score in the corner.

Quote Unquote

"If I ever came back I'd definitely come back to the Chiefs. Even if there was no money here I'd come back for free."
- Departing All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams hints that should he return to union it will be with his former employers in Hamilton.

Trivia Time

Which player can boast the record number of appearances in the English Premiership? Click here for the answer

And something you may have missed...

ESPNscrum endeavours to bring you an intoxicating mix of news, views and analysis and one or two of these gems may have passed you by over the last 12 months - but don't worry, we've dusted them off for your pleasure.

Yellow Fever
"The international game's top miscreants are Scotland's Nathan Hines and Italy's Marco Bortolami"
Huw Richards raids Statsguru to discover who are rugby's bad boys.

Picture Perfect

We've also trawled the archives for some of the best shots of year for your visual pleasure - here we re-live Gloucester's Mike Tindall attempting to shackle Toulouse's Thierry Dusautoir during their Heineken Cup clash at Kingsholm in January.