This year was not a vintage one for South African sports. New Zealand tripped up South Africa in both the Rugby World Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup, both times at the semifinal stage. Bafana Bafana crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations 2015 group stages.The Sharks (11th), Blue Bulls (9th), Cheetahs (12th), and Lions (8th) all bombed in Super rugby, while the Stormers finished third, losing in the qualifiers.It was not all bleak though: Wayde van Niekerk won gold in the 400m at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, Kagiso Rabada shone for the Proteas, the Golden Lions thrilled in the Currie Cup, Orlando Pirates made the CAF Confederation Cup final and the Blitzboks won the Cape Town leg of the Sevens World Series this past weekend.Here are some things we look forward to next year:A NEW SPRINGBOK COACHIt is widely expected that former Stormers coach Allister Coetzee will replace Heyneke Meyer.He will have to inculcate an entirely modern style of play in the team - and create a team that truly represents this country's demographics.OLYMPIC MEDALSSouth Africa finished with a ranking of 23 at London's 2012 Olympics, with six medals. Our haul included three gold medals: Cameron van der Burgh in the men's 100m breaststroke, Chad le Clos in the 200m butterfly, and our men's lightweight four rowing team. And there is good reason to believe we will fare far better in Rio than we did in Beijing in 2008, when Khotso Mokoena was our sole medallist with silver for the long jump.One of the big hopes will be Banyana Banyana, and its diminutive but dazzling striker Jermaine Seoposenwe.AT LEAST ONE GOLF MAJORThis year, Louis Oosthuizen came heartbreakingly close to winning the US Open (he was runner-up to Jordan Spieth) and The Open (lost to Zach Johnson in a play-off, after both finished tied for 15 under), while Branden Grace finished two shots off Spieth at the US Open and third at the PGA Championship.QUALIFICATION FOR AFCON 2017Bafana sit at the bottom of Group M with a point from their first two games, and two back-to-back fixtures against Cameroon on March 23 and 28, which may effectively decide their fate. Bafana need consistency if they are ever to achieve their dreams.THE PROTEAS WINNING AN ICC TOURNAMENTThe year began with the Proteas sealing the Test series against the West Indies, which was followed by a 2-1 loss in the T20 international series, and 4-1 ODI series win ahead of the World Cup in Australia, where they were lucky to make the semifinals . They won the T20 series against Bangladesh 2-0, lost the ODI series 2-1 and drew the two Tests. Then they drew the T20 series with New Zealand 1-1, and won the ODI series 2-1.Then came India, where despicable pitches made our top batsmen look like schoolboys. The Proteas need to up their game...