Update has been an all round improvement even if it only feels 1% closer to what it should be.
I’m also liking how the AI goes for goal, almost lost a game last night, each pen in lockable distance was taken by them and I scored a late try to win 19-12.
AI doesn’t sub off injuries, would be nice to have substitution cutscenes because now you never know when the subs will even work or not.
New problem though is that the ruck is very slow on my side, my cleaners come at a snails pace or just don’t come anymore.
Below is further feedback (Again shoutout to CHATGPT for rewording my rant)
1. Overall Summary
The latest patch has introduced several welcomed fixes and new features—most notably the reintroduction of contestable lineouts. However, there are still significant bugs and AI/animation issues impacting the realism of rugby union gameplay. Career Mode also needs additional depth and improvements to enhance player immersion.
2. Positives
Contestable Lineouts
What’s Good: Being able to compete for possession at lineouts again adds a vital strategic element back to the game.
Further Suggestion: Consider allowing subtle movement of jumpers prior to the throw to create more variability and skilful timing.
Ball-in-Hand Kicking
What’s Good: The power and accuracy feel intuitive.
Improvement Opportunity: Add a landing/bounce indicator to help players anticipate the drop zone. This would further enhance strategic positioning.
Enhanced Atmosphere
What’s Good: Crowd booing away players is an immersive touch. Stadiums, skylines, and replays look phenomenal.
Improvement Opportunity: Incorporate unique regional sounds (e.g., air horns, Waikato’s mooloo bells) for extra authenticity.
AI Attack Variety
What’s Good: AI runners attacking from different angles forces more active user defence—this is realistic and engaging.
High-Quality Visuals
What’s Good: Player likenesses, kit details, stadium models, and stadium lighting effects are top-tier. Replays especially showcase this graphical fidelity.
3. Game Mechanics & Core Gameplay Improvements
Below are specific gameplay concerns—many revolve around realism, AI behaviour, and game flow.
Offside Penalties
Issue: Offside calls appear even when the user is in possession and passing backward or making contested catches. The receiver being positioned incorrectly (or facing the wrong direction) triggers these penalties.
Proposed Fix:
Ensure ball-carrier logic checks that receivers are behind the ball at the moment of the pass.
Improve “running onto the ball” animations/paths so players don’t drift offside.
Rework contested kicks logic to accurately detect onside/offside positions at the time of the kick.
Passing to Wingers
Issue: Passes often fail to reach the winger or are misdirected even with targeted passing.
Proposed Fix:
Flatten the winger’s positioning so the game can more reliably recognize them as the intended pass target.
Increase the priority or weighting for passing to the outside if certain conditions (e.g., attacking formation, free corridor) are met.
Loose Ball Control
Issue: No user control when the ball is loose on the ground or in the air. The AI frequently recovers it, regardless of proximity.
Proposed Fix:
Allow user input to contest loose balls or catch high balls as soon as the ball is free.
Add a “compete for loose ball” mechanic (prompt or button press).
Ruck Frequency & Turnovers
Issue: Ruck turnovers happen too often, disrupting phase play.
Proposed Fix:
Use a slider or difficulty setting to govern ruck turnover frequency.
Reward better field positioning and higher-rated forwards with longer possession retention.
Defensive Line Behaviour
Issue: User backline occasionally runs in opposing directions, leaving large gaps.
Proposed Fix:
Program a consistent defensive shape that maintains spacing.
Implement a “drift” or “blitz” defensive alignment toggle to let players choose how the line moves.
Scrum Mechanics
Issue: Engagement timing influences only the immediate outcome. The “push phase is the sole deciding factor, and penalties feel abrupt.
Proposed Fix:
Make the scrum a multi-stage process: engagement timing, sustained shove, technique check.
Tie penalty outcomes to cumulative mis-timing across the phases rather than a single error.
Restrict offload angles to ensure passes are grounded in physical realism.
Refine the maul transition animations so the ball seamlessly moves from player to halfback.
Lineout Possession Logic
Issue: Incorrect rulings on 50/22-like situations and lineouts. Kicking from inside the AI half to the AI 22 incorrectly retains possession.
Proposed Fix:
Update the pitch-zoning logic to accurately track the origin of the kick and the ball’s landing spot.
Only grant lineout throws if the team meets the real-world 50/22 conditions.
Halfback at Lineout Time
Issue: Halfback is too close/entangled with forwards, leading to unrealistic passes.
Proposed Fix:
Position the halfback 2-3m behind the lineout formation, already oriented to pass.
Force them to maintain that distance while the lineout throw is contested.
Attacking Line Structure
Issue: Players stand too deep or out of place, causing passes to go to ground.
Proposed Fix:
Implement an attacking structure “framework” after each tackle. The nearest players move to designated positions (e.g., first receiver, crash runner, wide option).
Let the user choose a formation on the D-pad, so the AI populates consistent, predictable attacking shapes.
AI Game Strategy
Issue: No “exit” or “attack” intent from the AI based on field position or game context.
Proposed Fix:
Give AI a basic “playbook” with at least 10 preset behaviors (kick clearance, pick-and-go, wide pass, etc.).
Weigh each behavior according to game situation (time left, score difference, field position).
Player Replacements & Halftime Changes
Issue: Substitutions made at halftime may not stick unless the user re-selects them.
Proposed Fix:
Re-check squad changes upon resuming the match.
Add a confirmation prompt before returning to second half.
Highlights Camera
Issue: Some tries are missing from highlights. The camera angle is too zoomed-in at times.
Proposed Fix:
Expand highlight capture logic to include all scoring moments.
Issue: Adjusting training for each player is time-consuming.
Proposed Fix:
Add preset training schedules (e.g., “High Intensity,” “Defense Focus,” “Light Recovery”) that can be quickly applied to the entire squad or select groups.
Player & Team Leaderboards
Issue: No comprehensive tracking of top scorers, top tacklers, etc.
Proposed Fix:
Integrate season statistics—tries, points, defenders beaten, tackling stats—into a dedicated leaderboard interface.
5. Priorities & Next Steps
Below is a suggested priority breakdown:
Immediate Fixes (High Priority)
Offside penalty bug when in possession.
Passing logic to wingers.
Loose ball user control and ruck turnover frequency.
Halftime substitution reliability.
Medium-Term Enhancements
Defensive line shaping.
Scrum multi-phase engagement logic.
Refined maul transitions & offload angles.
Longer-Term Improvements / Expansions
Comprehensive AI “playbook” with varied exit/attack strategies.
More robust attacking structures with user-defined shapes.
Career Mode expansions (pre-season matches, better budget system, advanced training presets).
Quality of Life & Presentation
Highlights camera angles & coverage.
Authentic crowd noises (regional chants, horns).
Realistic missed-kick animations.
6. Conclusion
The most recent patch clearly shows Big Ant is moving the game in a positive direction—particularly by reintroducing crucial elements like contestable lineouts and refining kicking mechanics. The stunning visuals and stadium atmospheres continue to impress, and the new AI attacking angles keep defensive play interesting.
However, core gameplay bugs (especially offside logic and passing inaccuracies) disrupt immersion, and many areas—like Scrum & Maul mechanics and Career Mode financial realism—need further refinement. Addressing these issues and expanding the AI’s “intent” will help the game reach the standard set by other successful titles in Big Ant’s catalogue.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for reading through these suggestions!
Hello everyone,
I won’t add much to what’s already been said, but I’m confident that BA is working hard to deliver a rugby game that’s truly exciting and faithful to the real sport.
Among the most unrealistic aspects is the fact that in too many matches the first half stretches well beyond the 40th minute, with games often ending as late as the 120th minute.
A possible solution could be to slow down the clock—perhaps to normal speed or double real-time speed—once the 40th and 80th minutes are reached, to make the game time more believable.
What platform are you playing on. Todays minor update on steam, have not seen any changes to the ruck play, the last update was good for the rucks but need improvement,
I think the main issue is Y standing contested tackle does not work for isolating the quick steal, the quick steal should not involve a push over animation every time , particularly when its one player, this is what feels of, should just be a quick Jackle and if the offensive team counters the ruck gets held up with risk to holding to the offensive team. The single player jackle animation is not present, it is always a push over if there are offensive rucking player coming in, sometimes 1 defensive rucking player running over 2-3 offensive rucking players, happening less on the last two updates, but still happens, it should be a quick grab/steal animation without steam rolling 2-3 offensive players. And the offensive player should be able to hold on by pressing a button to hold on, with risk to be penalized, the quick binds work now to over power the offensive ruck without having to press steal, this is good, now let’s get the one on one stand up contested tackle to work for the steal without running over 2-3 players with one player.
Has any one got the barge to work R analog press down, used to work in early builds, has anyone got the up analog to work for fend? I also noticed there is something to pressing the shoulder buttons as the ruck forms, it seems like if you press the correct shoulder button plus the bind key they join quicker. Like if your coming from the right side tap the right shoulder bind and they will bind quicker, or vice a versa, could be my Imagination but seem like I have won more rucks using this shoulder buttons while pressing b to bind?
The rucks are horrible now, they have not improved. I get turned over a lot of the time now because either it takes my players too long to enter the ruck or it takes my scrum half forever to pass even though the ball is present and waiting.
Hello, can we get an idea on how much the team are able/willing to do with regards to updates?
There is alot of stuff on here that people are suggesting that would require pretty heavy reworks. But is this feasable? Should we be managing our expectations? Are we more likely to see tweaks and fixes to the mechanics that are already here?
I just think some information would help the feedback and suggestions going foward.
Will it not just be easier for the guys working on the gameplay and stability to play a game or 2 of rugby challenge . See how the did it .
This Game really looks good , Graphics is amazing , something i would have wanted to see in Rugby Challenge 4 , If only this Game can have the same gameplay just with the new laws added , and some extras , this will be the best Rugby Game ever . And moving on from here to the next game will be easier to just adjust ! I dont have a copy yet , still playing my Rugby challenge , waiting to see if this is worth the buy or just another Rugby 22 That i still have and dont even play at all . Big Ant , you guys are doing a awesome job ! just fill in the gaps and its sorted . The game will fly off the shelfs in every country ! I am from South Africa where the World Cup Champs are !!!
Another bug that i have just encountered is if you get a penalty and choose to kick for touch, if the clock goes red while the ball is in the air it automatically ends the game rather than allowing the lineout
Still some teams you can’t edited it or remove prayers to add your created player. The bulls are a team and the springboks you can’t add your player so sad.
Don’t press a direction on your left analog win binding, try pressing shoulder button and b to bind. And depending on the situation don’t always bind 3, you have to keep an eye on the defense, if there is no one near the ruck just bind 1-2, I believe this will waste less stamina on your players, so that you ready for a more intense ruck the next breakdown. The ruck is not just smashing buttons, you have to read what the opponent is doing, read your positioning at the breakdown and react accordingly if you smash 3 into the ruck on both offense and defense your players will lose stamina, and the next play will not be as affective. Sometimes you only need to bind 1 or 2 and then press steal. Both the B bind button, work on its own to overwhelm your opponent by binding faster and more for a pushover, and then there is the occasional 1 or 2 player B button press bind followed by the steal.(The animation for this is not always realistic but it works, sometimes you get 1 player steal the ball and bulldozer over 3 offensive rucking players that are a little late to the ruck). A simple steal animation without the bulldozing effect would look better) Still not sure how the Y is factored in.(NOT effective at the moment) I think they are still working on the Y contested tackle.( I think that will be our Jackle)
Also sprint on occasion not all the time. I believe all these things play a factor in the ruck, well, I would hope so, unless its wishful thinking .
With regards to adding players to international teams etc, they had this locked with cricket 24 not being able to add IPL players to their national teams. This was unlocked with a patch… hopefully they will unlock in this game.
One gripe is I can’t even search for players in the academy…game has obviously been rushed out for the 6 nations.
I wonder if a patch might see that functionality appear too, without making a song and dance about it in case it is against any licensing agreement made…
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