Rugby 25 Megathread

Rugby 25
5721

I don’t think 2K will give it a go to Union, but would love to be wrong. I guess they would first go into NFL before Union?

Man I’m not programmer so at the end I can’t tell. But there are so many many things that from the outside seems easy to implement, and look so crazy that still not working properly.

Like, how on earth in RL26 they can do several bump off, side steps and in R25 we can’t?

How on earth can we almost always break the first tackle in R25?

How is is possible that the passing is so much better in RL26? I mean, a pass is a pass, should be almost the same code between the two games?

The global gameplay of RL26 is so smoother than R25, that drives me crazy.

It seems that so much is still not yet implemented.

Let’s be patient, again, we can’t do anything anyway…

Or maybe could we @JNT_BA ? Doing some codes / designs that you guys could re use for free in the game / opensource ? Don’t know if this is common in the gaming industry.

I mean, even in my free time would be open to learn and help lol. When Union?

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5723

Yeah that’s true. We are so doomed. Man we have been more than patient, so tired to wait for things we don’t even know how depth their goal is.

JNT warned us, but the last 2 updates, 6 weeks, from user perspective… Still not a lot of improvements gameplay wise.

#Doomed

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5725

Further to what you’ve said Valhalla, I’ve bought and played nearly every Big Ant game that they have ever made.

There has been a variable level of quality to the original games and a variable level of quality to the patching of those games.

Although whether it be cricket, tennis or rugby league (don’t play AFL myself), there has generally been a higher standard and a higher number of effectual changes in every other game that I’ve mentioned compared to Rugby 25.

On top of the quality of changes needed to be made, there is the sheer quantity of changes needed to be made.

Whether it be in the areas of competition customisation, general player and logo customization, gameplay rule errors, clunky unenjoyable systems (scrums, lineouts, mauls), ineffectual in-game controls, general gameplay bugs (held up issue), or new features implemented with errors rendering them useless for most of the audience (new goal kicking system), lack of new content which was suggested at an earlier time, it all adds up to a game which is not fulfilling anywhere near the usual Big Ant standard after this number of patches.

One of the main problems is that when a patch is released many of the new changes often don’t work at all and need to be hot fixed or repatched. Sometimes more than once. To be honest this one is what is holding up future progress more than anything else. Right now we have a situation with goal kicking where a possibly much better system has been released, with more challenge and enjoyment, but as everything seems to be with rugby 25, it isn’t working for a large number of the audience.

Now when patch stuff isn’t working and big ant is telling us there is a three weekly patch schedule, and they have released something broken, surely we should be well within our rights to ask for those unworking elements to be patched as soon as possible and the three weekly schedule should really only apply to anything that actually works.

Surely that is fair. They release patches that work with a decent amount of new content that improves the game (and actually works) and then we shut up for three weeks other than making suggestions.

There are some darn good reasons we are complaining. I’d sincerely like to be somebody who compliments this game. I sure compliment RL26.

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5726

Confirmed, I’m at 1/9 or 1/10 for conversions with the new system. Thought Ramos was a good kicker though

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5728

Lol those exchanges between Ross and Shep

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5730

Would appear that there’s a few new kits for the refs. There’s a dark and a light one with RWC logos on them. Just what we all wanted :sweat_smile:!

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5731

@JNT_BA do you have record of previous codes in Early Access for certain things in the game, i looked at a Early Access 3 of Mad Dragons video, the Ai actually stringed passes a long before making contact, not this silly beats first defender every time and offload from anywhere anytime, and they actually did tactical kicking, why cant this be brought back, the game currently is as boring as can be, suddenly frame rates drop as well now.

And WHY is it possible for Rugby League 26 to get almost daily patches but Rugby 25 can’t? 3 weeks for Minor updates but RLL26 gets between 2-3 days and Major Updates! How??

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5732

Human resources are just more focused on RL26 as it is the priority project. We are doomed

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5734

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“Ireland, Aruba, Nepal, DR Congo & Switzerland in the same friendly tournament… yeah, totally realistic :upside_down_face:”

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“2 months asking for this to be fixed and still every non-French game in the European Championship Shield is played in France. Ridiculous.”

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5736

Is anyone finding themselves getting several “failed” “rucks” per game?

My player gets tackled to ground and when attempting to bind, the team just stand and look. You can hold the long pass button but nobody will ever lock the ball up and you can also try a kick - but nobody ever kicks it.

Can anyone confirm if this is just user error on my part and I’m doing something wrong or is this another big bug?

5738

Y’know things are bad when they release a patch with something that’s a new feature like “dynamic” goal kicking and it doesn’t work at all.
Then the best you can hope for isn’t a hot fix or even some communication that the problem is understood, but that somehow the problem will just fix itself. :laughing:

I guess we’re supposed to feel grateful that they tried to do something worthwhile at all. :thinking:

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5739

Hi Team,

Patch Feedback - Positives - PS5

Overall I feel quite positive on the game and the small steps it’s taking in improving different aspects. Personally for me I am enjoying it a lot more and finding it more challenging. This has been a major issue for me.

  • Ai defence and attack has improved. I find the Ai are kicking more for field position. Passing out wide sometimes and just varying their running , stepping passing, offloading. Especially near the goal line when they are attacking. If I commit too many players to the ruck they find the defence gaps and run to score over my goal line.
    Their defence is tighter but this also depends on Ai player abilities across the team with tackling.

  • All players including custom players feel more agile with movements. This is helping Ai run better for their attack and my own players

  • Stamina replenishment at halftime has reduced a bit but I think this is a good thing. I think it only replenishes by 40% now but this to me is realistic.

  • Injuries on “Reduced” setting will still occur in Career mode. This is a good thing as I still want to see some injuries , even if it’s only 1-2 per game in total for both teams overall in a match. Realistic and Extreme injuries up the number of injury occurrences and this is good that we can change these settings at any time during a coach career mode.

  • Crowd noise seems to have increased. Adds to more immersion and feeling of intensity / aggression.

  • Some tackles at times during periods of a match feel like they have more intensity, aggression. The sound effects and quick tackles sometimes make a feeling like a player has hit a brick wall or that the tackle could be a borderline high tackle. Again just adds to the match atmosphere at different times in the game.

  • Dynamic goal kicking , while it is challenging it’s not impossible and I have been able to kick goal conversions. Just needs more repetition/practice/tutorial and timing, this is on PS5. Good we still got the option for Classic.

NEGATIVES

  • On field Kicking in play still doesn’t have enough reach or power when kicking down the field. RL26 definitely has this more.
  • The TMO and Referee, still rules Held up on grounded balls in the in goal area. We also don’t see a generic TMO screen ruling a Try or No Try.
  • Lots of players still not updated with appearances. Particularly “Template Players” or players with wrong appearances. I guess we might see teams updated for the new seasons in Super Rugby, URC, MLR, Top 14, ProD2, Premiership Rugby

FUTURE

  • We still can’t remove players from teams. I am hoping we can in the next month or two in time for new seasons for URC, Premiership Rugby. And the ability to edit some players appearances (Non Face Scanned at least) and all player Stats. Stats so important as many stats I would like to change.

  • Hoping for more High Tackles and Red , Yellow Cards. Being done by my own players and the Ai. If there is a way you could get these events to randomly happen or some variables based on player stats. In Rugby challenge 4 it could happen randomly although we had sliders and player discipline meters which influenced High Tackles.

  • Womens World Cup teams and mode. I hope we see all the teams very soon.

Overall I support the work being done on the game. Even with the small steps it’s better than no work being done at all. None of us know the exact number of staff and resources JNTBA has in his team to work on improving the game so I think we all have to be patient. Playing the game now is a lot better than 3-4 months ago.

Thanks Team

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5740

@JNT_BA just take the lock off the licensed teams so we can edit them properly, and maybe even edit the players as well, looking at some players like Damian McKenzie and Bauden Barrett, they dont even have such big arms in real life like in the game,

You honestly “trying” to fix things in game, that is not first priority, “ more refs” no man

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5741

I hope they see this and read this bud and maybe can fix the Negatives … The TMO needs a fix with the held up and a screen ruling a try or no try cause every held up is a no try but actually it must be a try @JNT_BA

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5743

Well, JNT already indicated in his thread The Future of Rugby 25 what we could except to see coming, but here is a new feedback.

As Tani said, I might have the Stockholm Syndrome with R25 and BA lol.
I guess we can just wait (tired to wait lol), be grumpy or share memes.

Messages from Ross last night
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LICENSING

The licensing base in R25 is, without a doubt, one of its greatest strengths. It’s the biggest licensed rugby union game ever made, and adding the Women’s Rugby World Cup is fantastic — thank you for that.

For the future (whether in R25 updates or R27), the following additions would be great:

International

  • Men’s Rugby World Cup
  • Rugby Championship
  • Rugby Europe Championship
  • Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship
  • Rugby Africa Cup
  • Pacific Nations Cup
  • Autumn and Summer Nations Series (to be replaced by World Rugby Nations Championship)

Club

  • Japan Rugby League One (Div 1, 2 and 3)
  • NPC (NZ)
  • Heartland Championship (NZ)
  • Super Rugby Americas
  • Rugby Europe Super Cup
  • Investec Champions Cup & Challenge Cup
  • Currie Cup (SA)
  • Division De Honor (Spain)

These would bring in many world-class players retired from internationals currently missing (e.g., Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith — many of whom play in Japan).

Also worth noting: the Men’s Rugby World Cup already appears in Career Mode but can’t be played in Competition Mode or recreated in Custom Competitions due to limited format options. Expanding these formats of Custom Competition would make a big difference.

CAREER MODE

Coach Career Mode is already a strong foundation with many possibilities. To make it more immersive:

  • Integrate more licenses
  • Add depth seen in AFL 26 / RL 26 / Cricket 24, especially around club finances
  • Currently, money is only linked to player purchases, with no clear visibility on how it’s earned.
  • Adding budgeting, sponsorships, and financial management could enhance immersion greatly.
  • The only “points” we are earning thanks to challenges like scoring X tries in a game etc allow us to have access to greater international teams: that’s not so realistic

PHOTOGRAMMETRY & ROSTERS

Photogrammetry is dependent on player attendance, but many important international players are still missing — South Africa being a prime example. Many Top 14 clubs, almost all Pro D2, and some MLR teams also lack photogrammetry. Probably the same for Super Rugby, Premiership and URC

Suggested improvements:

  • Schedule a new photogrammetry session at the start of the Northern Hemisphere season (September) and in 2026 for Southern Hemisphere
  • Update rosters to reflect current squads

PLAYER TRANSFERS & SQUAD EDITING

Currently, licensed players can’t be swapped between clubs. A better squad management system for transfers would:

  • Keep rosters accurate
  • Give players more control
  • Recreate unlicensed teams like B&I Lions and Baltic Herrings

MISSING CONTENT & IDEAS

  • Pro Team Mode — Any chance before 2026? Could include legends for replay value

  • Be a Pro Career Mode —

  • Create a single-player, narrative-driven career mode similar to FIFA’s The Journey (Alex Hunter) or NBA 2K’s MyCareer, where the player controls one athlete’s journey from Brive grassroots rugby to international stardom, and finally winning the World Cup for France

  • “Era Mode” for Rugby Objective Let players relive, rewrite, or experience different iconic periods in rugby history, with authentic rules, teams, players, and presentation styles from that time.

  • Visual Atmosphere — More adboards and sponsors in stadiums to avoid empty feel

  • National Anthems & Haka — Adds immersion and authenticity ** Ka Mata and Kapa O Pango (NZ), Cibi (Fiji), Siva tau (Samoa), Kailao and Sipi Tau (Tonga)**

  • ** Opponent Team Reaction to Haka

  • Club Anthems — Pilou Pilou (Toulon), La Peña Baiona (Bayonne)

  • Fun touches / Easter eggs — e.g., Kelvin as referee, gripsocks (nod to Jordan)

GAMEPLAY FEEDBACK

The Good (Last Patch)

  • Punt kicking — Smoother, more consistent. Could be longer; bombs and box kicks still lack contestable hang time compared to RL26.
  • Support play — Improvement, but still to be vastly improved.
  • Goal kicking — New system looks promising (similar to RL26) but not working on my side

Core Issues Still Holding the Game Back

Player Skills, AI & Team Identity

  • Player attributes still feel irrelevant — Breaking first tackles and offload with ease (higher-rated teams break)
  • AI still too easy on Hardest
  • When several Side Steps, several Bump Offs etc ?
  • No visible differences between team play styles - ex:
    • South Africa — should feel physically dominant with a strong scrum
    • France — should have “French flair”
    • All Blacks — should bring dynamic running and offloads
  • Adding distinct team identities would increase variety and realism.

Rules Implementation

  • Knock-ons should not result in a penalty (seems fixed according to Jordan).
  • Kick chasers in front of the kicker shouldn’t be allowed to run past and tackle.
  • “Tackler not releasing” rule missing.
  • Very few yellow / red cards in matches under 10 min halves, making discipline irrelevant.
  • Specific Rule in MLR: automatically award seven points for any try scored directly under the posts
  • Penalty tries not included in the game ?
  • Deliberate Knock-ons
  • Things I’m not thinking about but other guys in the forum already discussed about many many times

Attacking Structure & Passing

  • Shapes are messy and unstructured — no forward pods off 9/10, clear running lines, or set backline moves from scrums/line-outs.
  • Support players are too deep — passes often travel 5m backwards instead of flat. Wingers should be 1m behind the passer at most.
  • Passing is less fluid than RL26 — adopting that system would be a big upgrade.
  • No set plays or strategic options like in RL26.
  • Pods in rucks are inefficient — 5-man rucks is maybe killing the structure? 3 (or max 4) ? I dunno
  • Play Book system like in EA College or Madden to be possible after line outs and scrums
  • It seems L3 and R3 buttons are not used in R25. Maybe a specific action could be made thanks to them ? (specific tackle / strategy etc…)

Defensive Shape

  • Lines don’t drift towards touch, man-marking inconsistent, random positional gaps appear.

Set Pieces

  • Line-outs — Too predictable, no effective tap/steal mechanics. Not fun
  • Scrums — Not fun
  • *Mauls — Not fun

Rucks

  • Improved but still inconsistent.
  • Timing can feel off — possession sometimes lost despite numerical advantage, and reverse
  • Lack of transparency in why rucks are won or lost.

Injuries & Substitutions

  • Injured player replacements are automatic — no manual choice.

Tackles & Held-Up

  • Being tackled over the try line always results in “Held-Up”; TMO never awards a try.

@JNT_BA , please make R25 good

Please make League fans jealous of Union fans

Please make Gripsocks great again

When Memes, When Patch ?

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5744

Totally agree with you, @Bapean — and I’d add the Autumn Nations Series to that list as well.
@JNT_BA, in your post about the future of Rugby 25, do you know when we might see the next stadium-based update? For example, Virgin Media Park is already in the game for the Women’s Six Nations but isn’t available in men’s modes, and you can’t assign it as a home ground for a team. Also, any news on updated squad rosters and kits?

And will there be a small patch this week to fix up a few things?

The game really is improving with each step — feels like it’s getting better by the minute. Thanks for all the work so far.

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5746

The current Autumn Nations Series is GONE after this season (25/26). World Rugby are set to launch a two-yearly Nations Championship (across Summer/Autumn windows) next season - not worth the effort to build the current ANC in. All good points though, plus they really need to get the Gallagher Prem rebrand integrated with the next build!

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5748

It would be amazing !

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5749

Well done sir! A fantastic well thought out post!

5750

Look I’ll say this again. If you have to *** to get around the censorship then just dont use the word or the ***. I think that’s simple. I don’t like having to clean up posts that are all good but people add ***. Im just going to delete them from now on.

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