The Offer Isn’t Great: Top 5 Best Video Games With Rugby Playing Simulation

12/11/2024 12:51 PM

Photo: Rugby 22 (screenshot youtube.com/@Throneful)

It’s challenging to replicate rugby play in a computer game. Numerous tactical options, significant mishaps, and complex limitations are subject to regular changes. The game is fluid and impromptu, changing with every match. It’s therefore understandable why, at least until recently, a large number of video game developers avoided the sport. However, some rugby-themed titles found their way to a good acceptance by gamers.

With more than 30 million supporters globally, rugby is currently one of the most popular sports in the world. Over the past 10 years, the number of betting sites accessible to rugby bettors has also increased dramatically, with each of the rugby bookmakers providing a unique offering. Given the sport’s long history in the British Isles, it isn’t surprising that rugby betting is particularly popular there. Although it isn’t as well-liked as football, cricket, or basketball, rugby has an ardent fan community that likes to play and watch it.

There aren’t many video games with rugby themes, and the ones that are available haven’t been highly regarded, in contrast to the many other sports that have inspired many popular video games. Consider the International Rugby Challenge. The 1993 Commodore Amiga and Mega Drive game made history in the gaming community when the UK magazine Amiga Power gave it a dismal 2% score, citing a number of issues like the clock failing to restart when the game was paused, players running over the ball instead of grabbing it, and spelling mistakes.

Fortunately, there are some enjoyable rugby union video games. If you’re a rugby enthusiast looking for a decent gaming title to play on your couch, this post is for you. In it, we’ll talk about the most well-liked rugby video games. These are the five that we think are the greatest.

# 5 Rugby 22

This 2022 EA Sports game has all the necessary components.

A range of combinations, passes, and tricks, as well as ongoing tactical modifications, are used both before and during the rugby match. There are official squads. Compared to earlier iterations, motion-captured animations are more realistic. The tactical intricacy of the game ensures a realistic portrayal of World Championship rugby. The new in-game tutorials allow even beginners to learn the fundamentals of the sport and practice a lot in order to become professionals eventually.

# 4 Rugby Challenge 3

Rugby Challenge 3 is among the best of the small number of rugby union gaming titles that are currently available. Originally released on Xbox and PlayStation in 2016, the third game in the Rugby Challenge series by game makers Wicked Witch Software was also made available for Microsoft Windows the same year. Being the first game in the franchise to feature a seven-a-side variation of rugby union, it’s noteworthy. Additionally, it’s the first game in the series to be licensed to use SANZAR teams.

Compared to its predecessors, Rugby Challenge 3 has a number of new features and game modes. These include a FanHub where you can create, edit, and share players; a Pro Mode where you can start as a rookie and advance over 13 seasons; and updated graphics for the next-generation consoles. Additionally, Grant Nisbett and Justin Marshall provide commentary on the game.

# 3 Rugby World Cup 2015

Rugby World Cup 2015 (RWC 2015) deserves praise for being, probably, the first rugby gaming title to promote hard, straight sprints rather than sideways prancing to get past defenses. There’s something meaty and attritional about a short ball to a forward.

Sometimes, as when you play rugby union video games, this feels comparable to Rugby 15. Little victories, like retaking an invading opponent or capturing key space over multiple play phases, can be exhilarating. Pop-ups and missed passes are among the many options available to you, yet they all come naturally. Many pros find it difficult to offload the ball in contact; however, in RWC 2015, even the most anvil-handed prop was able to softly float passes to his teammates. This gives the impression that your rugby players are elastically attached to the ball. The comments are the last item to be discussed. Since Bill McLaren’s lovely sounds blessed Jonah Lomu Rugby (we’ll get to it in a minute), this game provides the best in-game performance.

# 2 World Championship Rugby

World Championship Rugby is a video game that was released after the 2003 Rugby World Cup. It was made available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile devices in 2004. World Championship Rugby features all the World Cup’s teams and matches, in addition to a number of other rugby competitions, such as the Six Nations and Tri-Nations.

It's jam-packed with fantastic features, including an audio commentary by Stuart Barnes and Miles Harrison, a fairly alluring survival game, and the “Beat the All-Stars” function. The action-packed game World Championship Rugby captures the excitement of a real rugby union match.

# 1 Jonah Lomu Rugby

The lone rugby union video game that can rival even the top football video games in terms of quality is this one. If you haven’t tried out Jonah Lomu Rugby yet, you’ve got no clue what you’re missing. Jonah Lomu Rugby, which was made available for Sega Saturn, DOS, and PlayStation in 1997, lets you take control of the real national rugby union teams who competed in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. This covers the 16 teams that competed in the qualifying phases in addition to the 16 finalists. It’s “one of the most innovative and easy-to-use gameplay systems ever utilized in a sports game”, according to a review of the game published in Sega Saturn Magazine at the time of its debut.

It's easy to understand why the game received such high praise given its accurate weather portrayal, four-player compatibility, on-screen menus, logical control scheme, and realistic graphics. Jonah Lomu Rugby was rated the best video game ever made for rugby by The Telegraph in 2015. It’s also “the best rugby game ever made”, according to the Irish Independent. We concur. The first rugby union game to be released on the PlayStation or Saturn platforms was precisely Jonah Lomu Rugby. The title of the video game alludes to the former New Zealand winger, who was elected into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 and is regarded as the greatest rugby player of all time and the sport’s first superstar.

Final Thoughts

With so few options available in 2024, finding the ideal rugby gaming title to suit your needs is not too difficult. You should try at least one of the titles we listed.

We believe it is too soon to offer our evaluation of Rugby 25 because it was only published in June. Therefore, it was left off the list. This has the potential to be a very fantastic product with balanced scrums and improved tactical AI. The animations look amazing, and the player likeness is always sufficient.

Rugby 22 might be the answer if you’ve been searching for good nightly amusement since the PS2 days. Just a recommendation...