Hey all, noticeable improvement in the difficulty level after the mini-patch yesterday, long way to go but a few steps in the right direction. A couple of thoughts on the game below:
Turnovers
Would love to see a few more turnovers via penalty rather than always being clean changes of possession. Specifically in rucks, where the majority of turnovers these days come from âholding onâ infringements rather than an opposing player actually coming away with the ball.
Would also be great to see that 
command triggering a much quicker animation, especially when the ball carrier is isolated.
While clean turnovers happen the minority of the time at rucks, theyâre even more rare at scrums. A completely dominant scrum tends to lead to a penalty, whether on your own ball or the oppositions. I canât stress how rarely a team gets a clean hook and turnover off opposition ball due to crooked feeds (rightly or wrongly). The animation is already there!
If you win a scrum penalty but the ball is playable, it would be cool to see that given as an advantage, but this doesnât seem to exist in the game currently.
I always feel as though rugby video games shy away from penalties, but theyâre a vital part of a more tactical game or building a score and should happen more often in my opinion, especially in these scenarios. An option to collapse mauls (more on this below) and offsides also would be nice to see!
Set Piece
Weâve touched on scrums, but Iâd love to see more features added to both mauls & line outs. As above, a defensive option to collapse an opposing maul thatâs built great momentum would be great. It would also be nice to see the CPU use this if youâve got a good shove on and are near to their line.
Lineouts are just thread bare at the moment, vital this becomes a genuine contest with more movement, fakes & tactics. Feels very repetitive and boring currently.
Set Plays & Structure
I do hope these are coming soon, theyâre a must for a more slick gameplay out wide. The addition of more penalties above would give a greater chance to showcase this system if and when it comes along.
The pod system could do with a bit of refinement too, forwards feel detached currently, though I think this has improved slightly. Essentially it offers a blank slate play to allow your forwards to control a phase and allow the backline to get into place for a more structured play.
An option to switch into âpick and goâ mode would be great too, get your 9 out of the way, forwards pick and go in packs. Runs the risk of penalty infringements for sealing off etc. Again, a big part of the game near the line!
Animations
Nice to see more added as patches have come out. One I would love to see a bit of focus on is passing animations, in terms of making the game look âmore realâ, itâs frustrating to see players pass across their bodies without curtailing their own speed, direction or even moving their shoulders. When you pass, your upper body inevitably twists in that direction. Would make the game look a lot more slick.
Adding speed to sidestep animations is a must too. They are currently exceptionally slow and not at all representative of the most elusive runners in the game, even if itâs not a clear break, just a sharp step to a loose shoulder would make the game feel much more fun out wide.
Goal Kicking
Would be nice to have a little differential between kickers ball flights. Some players tend to have a fade in their kicking trajectory, others hook/pull, some are generally straight down the middle. It would be great if we were able to assign trajectoryâs to players, along with a specific kicking style (stance & run up).
The animations are in the game, but it would be amazing to create players from the past or present and assign styles that are most reminiscent of their own (Iâm thinking Wilkinson, the clasped hands are already part of the standard run up, then a slight fade off the right foot!)
Last note here is that the player should always address the ball, not the posts in their run up. I.e. their shoulders should be square to ball, it looks strange otherwise. More of a ârun upâ than a tentative âwalk upâ animation would be nice too. Looks very rugby league at the moment.
Academy Suite
Similar to part of the above, are there plans to expand the editing & creation options? @JNT_BA
Cricket 24âs tools are so far beyond Rugby 25 currently, it would be incredible to see this integrated into the game. Iâm sure the community would produce some incredible creations that breathe further life into the game.
With regards to logos, obviously it would be great to allow more detailed imported images, but I understand the need to control this for not overwhelming online play. I only ask if it would be possible to add logos to players entire bodies (including equipment), weâd see some amazing tattoos, along with greater customisation on boots, scrum caps etc. Obviously to control the file size, weâd expect limited slots, but even a couple would make a big difference!
Player creation also desperately needs options for stubble, textured eyebrows, greater skin ageing & textures. As mentioned, an update just to bring it to the level of Cricket 24 would be an incredible addition!
Player Ratings
Iâve played a couple of games with my created teams where the ratings are a little more realistic in my opinion and Iâve found the gameplay to be more balanced. Players are more vital in their own roles and feel more different to each other.
I completely understand the need to lock certain aspects of editing licensed players, and also the scale of the task to assign bespoke ratings to every player, but please allow us the ability to edit ratings and positions (at least!) in licensed players. I donât know why it frustrates me so much that I see Scrum Halves with 90 strength all over the place! 
Obviously with constructive feedback it can come across as negative, but I just want to say that Iâm really positive about this game. Itâs been a long road, but itâs easy to forget the history of rugby games and how much ground has had to be made up to get a game of any note. Itâs not perfect by any means, but itâs progressing steadily into what I hope will end up a really enjoyable game.
I hope this feedback is taken on board and seen as plausible, as I think at least some of it could add a lot to the game, not only right now but to make it playable long into the future.
Cheers! 
Note: apologies for the essay!
