Best rugby game up to this date
When I first started playing this game I had a slightly bad impression because I was currently playing rugby 05 and it took a while to get used to but it quickly improved as I played more. Although many of the major issues in 05 have been fixed such as - the annoying ankle tap rolling where players roll about 10 metres; lack of set plays; some unrealistic stats for the players, the major problem which wasn't fixed was the inferiority of the AI, which is shockingly easy to beat even on elite mode (hardest difficulty). In order to get a decent challenge out of the game I have to resort to being a less strong team such as Georgia against one of the best teams (Australia).
Many people have also been complaining about the difficulty of winning scrums and personally I agree, as in real life it is quite unlikely that the team with the feed would lose the scrum by being pushed of the ball 10 metres.
Negatives aside, I must say that rugby 06 provides a very immersive gaming experience with the addition of off-load tackling, making the game more free-flowing then ever, giving the player seemingless different ways in order to score tries. For those who have played 05, fresh animations have also been added, such as new tackling, catching and scoring animations. There are also slight tweaks in the graphics which are noticable from the previous games and player stamina has also been added. Probably the most important aspect of the game if you want to be competitive is the team and player ratings, which have been updated and are now more accurate, although some players are still over rated (wilkinson, o'driscoll, henson etc.). The new impact players really give a boost to the team, as they would in real life, which makes you want to use their superior abilities to win matches.
Overall, whilst this game still has some minor issues such as scrummaging, it provides an experience which has been vastly improved from the past games in the series. If you are a fan of the EA rugby series or just want to try something new then this is the sports game which you do not want to miss out on!