Rugby 06 talk (morphed from threadjacked TOCA 3 post)

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:36 pm

I was going to comment on that--this could be one of the most comprehensive threadjacks in quite some time.

The CPU gets by with the high tackle more often than I do, which can be frustrating if the ball pops out.

When I moved up to Pro, my style definitely became more defensive than before. I still haven't found the sweet spot of offense vs. defense, so I give up possession a few more times than I should.

I'll keep sticking the CPU and hope they lose possession, I suppose.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:42 pm

pk500 wrote: One other plus of Rugby 06: I think it has a pretty b*tchin' soundtrack!

Take care,
PK

Yeah, I really like the soundtrack for this game. I love the song from Amusement parks on fire, as well as that song by "the Bandit" I also went out and downloaded some other tunes by Amusement parks on fire as well...I love their sound. I also looked for some stuff from the Bandit but couldn't find anything.
Rubgy without a doubt is one of my favorite games in quite sometime. It has not dissapointed at all.
As far as leagues go in this game, it's all about the Super 14 for me. I even bought a Waratahs beanie on worldrugbyshop.com.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:42 pm

I like to mix it up a bit with a grubber kick or an up-and-over kick every once in a while. The grubber was way more effective on Club than Pro, but I find sprinting like a bastard under an up-and-over can be a pretty effective change-up tactic if you feel like your offense has hit a wall near the center of the pitch.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:43 pm

tjung0831 wrote:As far as leagues go in this game, it's all about the Super 14 for me. I even bought a Waratahs beanie on worldrugbyshop.com.

Hmm ... who's in second place in the Super 14 this season, just behind the Crusaders? Bandwagon rider!

I downloaded the recent Crusaders-Waratahs match last night and am going to watch it over a beer and/or a scotch tonight!

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:07 pm

I've found the up-and-over kick to be really effective when you're bearing down on the goal line with full support.

The grubber is tougher to use and I've mostly tried it when heading downfield with only a couple mates off to the wings and not too many defenders.

Boltman · Post by **Boltman** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:24 pm

Ahhhh, warms my heart. It's like you are my new little Rugby gospel sreading minions!!!

Mwuahahaha!!!

Now go and get Setanta and be done with having to DL matches!!

Long live my Crusaders!!! And I am not Bandwagoning PK!! Go way back in any of the previous Rugby threads I was in, I said they were my team before the Super 14 started!!

1st!! Read it and weap my boys, FIRST!!!!!

Crusaders
Waratahs
Hurricanes
Brumbies
Bulls
Sharks
Chiefs
Blues
Highlanders
Cheetahs
Reds
Stormers
Cats
Force

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:15 am

Bolt:

Now that I'm starting to know who some of these players are, I realized last night while watching the Crusaders-Waratahs game that the Crusaders' lineup is loaded. Carter, Gear, Jack, McCaw, etc.

While I used the Hurricanes in my first Super 14 season in Rugby 06, I still haven't picked a team to support in real life yet. I need to watch more games, see what teams, players, styles, mascots, stadiums, etc., catch my eye. I need the whole lot!

Take care,
PK

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:28 am

pk500 wrote:Bolt:

Now that I'm starting to know who some of these players are, I realized last night while watching the Crusaders-Waratahs game that the Crusaders' lineup is loaded. Carter, Gear, Jack, McCaw, etc.

While I used the Hurricanes in my first Super 14 season in Rugby 06, I still haven't picked a team to support in real life yet. I need to watch more games, see what teams, players, styles, mascots, stadiums, etc., catch my eye. I need the whole lot!

Take care,
PK

The Crusaders stadium is pretty cool with the Knights and that castle on the one end.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:51 am

this thing on the PC?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:56 am

Good question, Squid. A Google search shows that it's available on the PC, but when you go to EA's Rugby 06 Web site, Xbox and PS2 are shown as the only available platforms:

http://www.easports.com/rugby06/

Take care,
PK

Boltman · Post by **Boltman** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:44 am

pk500 wrote:Good question, Squid. A Google search shows that it's available on the PC, but when you go to EA's Rugby 06 Web site, Xbox and PS2 are shown as the only available platforms:

http://www.easports.com/rugby06/

Take care,
PK

It is on pc with tons of updates made by gamers, updated kits, stadiums, on field sky sports logos etc, the works ala konamis we9.

Go to EA's euro site, you can order it from a closer place like England or what not.

If you pick it up on pc, I can steer you were to get all of the updates that us x box version players cant.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:47 am

Last night was the first night I haven't played Rugby 06 in about two weeks. I missed it almost like you miss the touch of a hot chick the night after you hooked up with her in college, yearning to get her back in the rack again as soon as possible.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:56 am

I'm looking forward to a mini-orgy of Rugby 06 before I head back out of town. It is the only XBox game I've yearned to play lately.

devilsjaw · Post by **devilsjaw** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 7:58 am

Does anyone know if Rugby 06 is BC for the 360?

Boltman · Post by **Boltman** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:10 pm

devilsjaw wrote:Does anyone know if Rugby 06 is BC for the 360?

No unfortunately it is not.

I doubt it ever will be infact.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:44 pm

Just wanted to get this thread going again...I'm loving this game the more and more I play it.

First off, it looks great and plays super smooth on my new tv.

Besides the visuals, the gameplay feel really organic. The pace is also great, which can be in part be attributed to just the right amount of cut-scenes. The commentary is nicely understated and provides a nice background to the game at hand.

One question about Rugby in general- When a player is taken down and a ruck forms (I think it's a ruck- basically it happens every time someone is tackled), what determines who gets posession? I press "A" repeatedly to send men in, but not sure what dictates who gets it.

Thanks guys

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Fri May 05, 2006 6:07 pm

Boltman wrote:
devilsjaw wrote:Does anyone know if Rugby 06 is BC for the 360?

No unfortunately it is not.

I doubt it ever will be infact.

Rugby 2006 will be the first game BC for the Xbox 3. You can count on that.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri May 05, 2006 6:40 pm

fanatic wrote:One question about Rugby in general- When a player is taken down and a ruck forms (I think it's a ruck- basically it happens every time someone is tackled), what determines who gets posession? I press "A" repeatedly to send men in, but not sure what dictates who gets it.

Thanks guys

The ruck, from wikipedia.org:

>>>>>

Ruck

A ruck is a contest for possession. Once a tackle has grounded a player, he must release the ball and try to move out of the way, as must the tackler. The first player(s) arriving from either side may pick up the ball; however as soon as two players, one from each side, bind together — usually by locking shoulders as they face each other — with the ball at their feet they have formed a ruck, as more players arrive they may join the ruck, but must do so from the last foot (also known as the "gate") of their own side. In a ruck no player may use his hands to win the ball, instead each side attempts to push the other side back, and players use their feet to hook the ball backwards towards their own side — an action known as "rucking the ball" where it will be picked up by the scrum-half or half-back who waits behind the ruck. Players in a ruck may not deliberately go to ground themselves. If the ball becomes trapped in a ruck, the referee awards a scrum to the side going forward.

Most infringements occur in rucks. Players may seek to slow down the speed of the recycling of the opposition's ball or speed up their own by using their hands illegally, or by lying over the ball, or going to ground deliberately. Such infringements result in penalties. If the attacking team loses possession by legal means, either because of the attacking player dropping the ball or a defending player stealing it, then the ball is said to have been "turned over". After a turn over play carries on without stopping, and the attacker/defender roles of the two teams are switched.

The ruck and the maul are two phases of the game where the offside law is particularly important. Any player not taking part in the ruck and maul must retreat behind the "offside line", a notional line that runs through rearmost foot of a player in the ruck/maul, parallel to the goal lines.

<<<<<

A few tips regarding the ruck in this game. You know you have possession of the ball in the ruck when the red upside-down triangle appears over your players in the ruck. When it appears over the opponent, they have control.

If you don't have control or look like you're outnumbered in an attempt to get control in the ruck, don't hammer the A button to add more players to the ruck. You'll only remove defenders from the line, leaving your defense very vulnerable once the CPU moves the ball out of the ruck, especially if it's a CPU team with good passing and overlaps.

Hope this helps! Rugby 06 is easily my game of the year and might be my game of the last four to five years. It's incredible.

Take care,
PK

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:50 am

Thanks for that PK.

Good tip about pressing A to bring in more guys- I was definitely doing what you advised against.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 06, 2006 8:42 am

Fanatic:

Oh, hell, so was I! It took me a few days to figure out who was in possession in the ruck and what kind of chances I had at stealing possession. Those chances are pretty slim, so I try to keep as many guys outside for defense as possible.

If the other team has the ball deep in my half, I might add a few more guys to the ruck just to increase the core of my central defense in case they decide to ram it up the middle. Otherwise, I try to stay spread out, especially against teams that like to use the width of the field. And I do love how teams have very different styles in this game, especially the national teams!

I think Boltman gave me that smart tip about the ruck.

Take care,
PK

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Sat May 06, 2006 10:20 am

It's all starting to come together in terms of understanding the game.

Learning a new sport is also half the fun for me. As a 31 year old sports nut who's watched Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and Football since he was 5 and knows those games inside out, it's pretty cool to start "fresh" and get into a sport later in life- especially one like Rugby, which I had NO IDEA what the rules were.

Same thing happened with Winning Eleven. And in both cases I have to admit it's a bit weird to be such a rookie when it comes to game knowledge. I'm used to being able to talk at lengths about the sports I watch.

In any case, Rugby06 will join WE8 in the category of video games that translated into real life interests. I guess you could put Colin McCrae in there too.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 06, 2006 1:44 pm

Fanatic:

I'm in the exact same ship with Rugby 06. Knew next to nothing about the sport, got the game, fell in love with it, and now I'm downloading rugby torrents from the Super 14 on a fairly regular basis.

Colin also helped me get into rally. I remember when I first got an Autosport subscription in December 1998, I saw this form of off-road motorsport I never knew existed. "What the hell is this, it's cool as hell!" I remember saying.

It was rallying. Then I noticed a Playstation game called Colin McRae Rally for rent at my local video store, so I rented it. The rest, as they say, is history: Now rallying is my favorite form of motorsport, even slightly more than F1 and Indy cars.

Take care,
PK

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Wed May 10, 2006 12:14 pm

I picked this up after trading in some games. I have quickly realized two things 1- I have no idea what I'm doing 2 - It's a heck of alot of fun.

Just a couple of quick questions:
1- When should I use a grubber kick?
2- What constitutes offsides, because Im called for that every other minute
3- Is it important to understand the plays to be successful?

Thanks.

Rick

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:34 pm

icvu42 wrote:I picked this up after trading in some games. I have quickly realized two things 1- I have no idea what I'm doing 2 - It's a heck of alot of fun.

Just a couple of quick questions:
1- When should I use a grubber kick?
2- What constitutes offsides, because Im called for that every other minute
3- Is it important to understand the plays to be successful?

Thanks.

Rick

Another convert -- fantastic! I'll try to answer your questions, Rick, but I hope Boltman chimes in, too.

1. I use a grubber kick only in two situations.

One is when I have a speedy guy on the outside carrying the ball who lacks support and is about to get nailed by a defender. I use the grubber kick just as the defender cuts toward my player. Sometimes, especially if my guy is fast enough, he'll blow right past the attempted tackle and scoop up the ball for a try or at least gain more ground. DON'T try this deep in your end, though, as the consequences of screwing up this tactic will hurt in your end.

The second situation is when I seem to hit a stone wall around the opposing team's 22-meter line. I'm not the greatest drop-kicker from that distance, so often I'll just attempt a grubber. Even if it fails, I usually can pin down the opposing player who scoops up the failed grubber deep enough in the CPU's territory that they'll probably kick it out to touch when they pick up the ball or on the ensuing ruck.

2. Ah, I was offsides all the time when I first got this game, so you're not alone! Your player is offsides when he's on the CPU's side of the ruck when the CPU plays the ball from the ruck. It's a judgment call, though. If your player is on the CPU's side of the ruck when the ball is played but he's either far away from the ball or on his way back to your side of the ruck, then sometimes the ref won't call it. But if your player is anywhere near the ball or the ruck when the ball is played back to the CPU in the ruck, you'll get nailed for offsides. You'll get the feel for it quickly.

3. I still don't understand the offensive plays in this game, but I do figure out quickly which offensive plays work best against certain opponents and exploit that as much as I can.

On defense, it's pretty logical which plays to pick with the D-pad. If you have the CPU pinned deep in its end, pick Kick as your defense. You'll set up for a nice return. If you have a team that uses a lot of overlapping passing, I find Pocket to work well. I almost always use Tight when a team is inside my 22 unless it's a superb overlapping team, and Tight also works well anywhere against teams that like to bull it up the middle and keep possession in the ruck. Standard works well everywhere else.

I had a great Rugby 06 experience Monday night, my last night at home before coming to Indy. I finished my Super 14 regular season with the Brumbies on Pro level, finishing third and qualifying for the playoffs. Not bad, since the Brumbies have the third-best rating among Super 14 teams. The Waratahs and Crusaders finished 1-2, respectively, in the regular season and crushed me in the regular season.

My semifinal game was against the Crusaders, and I won, 19-17, on a 76th-minute try by Stirling Mortlock. I played super-smart and super-conservative against the top-rated Crusaders, and I was stoked to win. A real nail-biter.

Then I f*cking destroyed the Waratahs, 45-17, in the final. Man, I was pumping my fist in delight like I have with few team sports games ever. It was gratifying as hell to see that Super 14 Cup in my trophy case on Pro level.

Now I think I'm ready to give Elite a shot when I return from Indy.

Man, I LOVE this game. I can't believe that I knew nothing about rugby two months ago and now am watching the game and actually know what the hell is going on, thanks to this game.

Rick, you need to pimp your brother Tony on this game, and the three of us could get together to play sometime!

Hope this helps.

Take care,
PK

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:50 pm

PK,

Thanks for the advice. I played a couple of exhibition games then decided to jump into a league. I play on the club level 10 minute halves. I am playing as Italy and my first game was against South Africa. I lost 55-7.

I have a hard time defending when I kickoff (is that the correct term?) When I kicked deep, he got to the corner and was gone. If I kicked short, he found a seem in the middle and was gone.

S. Africa was rated about 20 points higher so I knew they would kick my butt.

Rick