There have been a handful of enjoyable alternatives in the years since, but none have come close to providing a definitive virtual representation of the sport. There have been a handful of decent attempts at bringing this undoubtedly multifaceted sport to the world of video games, but the fact that it is generally accepted that no game has managed to surpass, Codemasters’, Jonah Lomu Rugby from 1997 really says it all. You only need to watch a scrum in action to know just how much can go wrong….throw AI into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for, well, if not disaster, at the very least undue complication. Whether it be a scrum, a ruck, a maul, a lineout, competing on the ground or chasing a kick, nearly every action requires a unique set of mechanics and nearly all of them involve a huge number of the players from each team. In rugby, you can’t simply get away with decent passing or running – there are simply too many moving parts. Rugby though? There are so many caveats, so many different ways that the game can pan out.

Chances are, there will only be one pass (if any), and while each player on the field is certainly in action throughout the entire play, for video game purposes, the emphasis is moved to a much more confined event i.e. Of course, American football can see a host of players challenging for the same ball, but the sport itself is broken up by plays, and despite the complexities that occur before the snap, once in motion, things do become relatively straightforward. Sadly, while it is fantastic to play, and arguable even better to watch, it doesn’t necessarily lend itself all that well to video games.ĭespite the basic premise of attempting to get the ball over the try line or kicking for goal being relatively straightforward, rugby is an undeniably complex sport, and while the same could certainly be said of its US-based counterpart, American football (or just, ‘football’ if you’re from the States), it doesn’t benefit from the more structured approach that makes the NFL such a perfect fit for videogames. Yes, being Welsh, I’m almost obliged to say that, but despite / because of its complexities, rugby is one of the most engaging sports on the planet.

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