E-Mail This Article to a Friend Swept under the rug Rugby 2005 toils in obscurity BY AARON SOLOMON
	Rugby 2005 Published by Electronic Arts. Developed by EA Canada. For PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. Rated E for Everyone.

Somewhere across the sea, there’s a kid opening his copy of Madden 2005 and thinking to himself, "Wot the bloody ‘ell ‘is goin’ on ‘ere?" I believe this not because it’s true, or because I love that silly little cockney accent, but rather because the universe usually finds a way to right itself, and as such, Rugby 2005 has got to be the yin to Madden’s yang.

Until now, rugby in the United States has pretty much been relegated to college club teams alongside the Ultimate Frisbee squads. On a national awareness level, it probably ranks slightly below elephant polo, and doesn’t seem like it would be a very successful title to market in these United States. Imagine my surprise then, when I discovered that Rugby 2005 is in fact the third rugby title released by Electronic Arts to appear in America in the new millennium (it’s the fourth overall, counting Rugby World Cup 1995 for the Sega Genesis).

Rugby 2005 clearly appeals to two demographics: people who love rugby (whom I’ll call "rugheads," because it sounds funny), and people who like to laugh at the funny cultural traditions of other countries – in this case, rugby. Having only witnessed the game on two prior occasions I don’t think it’s a stretch to say I was utterly clueless about the whole thing, nor do I think I’m in the minority on this one...

Luckily for me, Rugby 2005 includes two pretty friendly aides. "Rugby 101" is an animated video that is essentially The Idiot’s Guide to Rugby, and is a good showcase of the no doubt improved backgrounds and player rendering. Before you can play even an exhibition match, you must complete the training session, which is a series of drills ranging from evading defenders and making passes, to kicking goals and learning how to defend a moving target.

The heart of Rugby 2005 is the myriad tournament options available to you, eight in all. Included are international tournaments like the Tri-Nations (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia) and Six Nations (France, Italy and the U.K.), as well as provincial tournaments such as the Super 12 tourney. I heard on a tip that the New Zealand All Blacks – who play in international competitions – were the team to be, so I began a Ten Nations tournament in which I won my opening match (hello, self esteem!) and then proceeded to play like the 2001 Carolina Panthers.

I fared better in the Super 12 tournament, no doubt due to the diluted talent pool, but it still took all the power I could muster to keep from hurling my controller through my television (which wouldn’t have helped anybody, least of all me). The reason for this, I’m afraid, is due to the utter ineptitude of the AI, who more often than I’d care to remember dropped my ball or just decided to plain old not defend.

Football, basketball, and baseball are team sports, but they also rely on individual game-breakers to affect the outcome. For the most part, that's why you can overlook your computer-controlled teammates in those games, but in a game such as rugby (or soccer, as in FIFA, which this game resembles) that is constantly moving, every player is important, and needs to be in the proper position at all times to be successful. If the real New Zealand All Black players acted as they do in this game, there would likely be some riots going on from Auckland to Hobbiton.

There’s little excuse for the slow loading times between selection screens and sporadic freezes in the training mode that I experienced, or for the pretty remarkable typo towards the end of the instruction manual. There’s also a confusing "Scrimmage bar" indicating which team has control during a ruck or scrum that always seemed to be reversed, and at times it seemed as if possession was arbitrary (to this effect, "Rugby 101" could have better explained the rules of possession – a la American Football’s downs – which makes it seem that Rugby 2005 includes the rules of both Rugby League and Rugby Union).

The controls are built to encompass the entire controller, with the right toggle activating jukes and sidesteps, and tackles on defense, and left and right passes (this ain’t football, so you have to lateral) controlled by the X and B buttons. The combination of the dumb AI and the sometimes slow reaction time means that all you button mashers better learn some patience or get used to losing.

Rugby 2005 is highly addictive despite its flaws, and I actually find that I understand the game of rugby a hell of a lot better than I ever did before (and, sadly, better than the various quirks and controls of this game). It’s not great by any means, but will provide plenty of entertainment when you’ve tired of ruling the gridiron or baseball diamond.

Score: 6.5 (out of 10)