Rugby Union Team Manager 4 Reviews

I don’t usually leave reviews, but I’m desperate for a good rugby management game, so I hope the developers can take something from my completely unqualified opinion—other than the 1,500 hours I’ve spent on the new Football Manager, which obviously sets the standard for sports management games. If you’re looking for a team management simulation where you can build a squad and aren't bothered about watching or playing the actual games, you might get some enjoyment out of this. That said, I have a few issues with this aspect—namely, the lack of a reputation system. Top players will sign for 3rd division non-professional English teams, meaning you can easily build a super team within the first few seasons. This undermines the fun of squad building—why wouldn’t you sign Damian McKenzie for Nottingham? I used to play a game called Pro Rugby Manager 2 that was released in 2005, and it handled this perfectly. It would negatively impact signings by giving an overall contract rating and then significantly reducing it if your team’s reputation was too low or the player didn’t want to move to that country. You’d have to offer a massive contract to compensate—which reflects real life. Other issues with the simulation side include: * Coaches having no impact. * Being able to coach international teams, the Barbarians, or the B\&I Lions without earning it. * Contract management is frustrating—if you forget to re-sign players at the start of the season, they’ll almost definitely sign elsewhere without any notification that their contract was up or that other teams were interested. One thing the game does well is the Academy/Colts system. You’ll see promising players come through, and it’s satisfying to build some homegrown talent. That said, it barely matters when you’ve got a World XV by the time they’re ready. It also becomes a chore when promoted Colts leave your squad under the minimum 35-player threshold, forcing you to sign random players from other teams just to meet requirements. The real dealbreaker—and why I’ve uninstalled the game—is the completely unplayable 2D/3D match engine, which ruins any enjoyment. Teams hold onto the ball for 20–30 minutes at a time, so any subs you try to make either have no impact or don’t even come on before the final whistle. There’s a noticeable lack of penalties, which leads to regular scores like 21–14 most games. While it would be frustrating to concede a penalty in the 79th minute in front of the posts, that would at least feel authentic and give attributes like Rucking some meaning. As it stands, most attributes seem irrelevant—only Scrum, Goal Kicking, and Line Out seem to make any noticeable difference. There’s no fluidity or spontaneity in the engine. Players won’t exploit gaps or pass to an overlapping teammate—they’re locked into rigid instructions from the limited playbooks. Again, in Pro Rugby Manager 2 (remember, released in 2005), players would abandon the set play if they saw a gap. That made pace important and also gave defensive attributes like positioning, tackling, and awareness visible impact. That game also had 10x more set plays—this one offers just two for scrums and the same two for lineouts (plus a maul if you’re within 10 metres). **But the absolute worst part of the engine is the crash ball to the inside centre (12) from a lineout or scrum. You will score every time you use it, and the AI will do the same to you.** You can’t stop it—even if your 12 has 99 in tackling—and it’s infuriating. My last ever match in this game was a loss as England to Argentina, where their 12 scored five tries from the exact same set play. You know it's coming, and you can’t prevent it. My own 12 scored twice doing the same thing, but since possession is never turned over, you end up helplessly watching them run the clock down. Honestly, the match engine feels like it was built for Rugby League. Players stop immediately when tackled, and the overall flow suits that game more than Union. I urge the developers to revisit Pro Rugby Manager 2 for inspiration. It wasn’t perfect—but it’s a 20-year-old game that, in many ways, does almost everything better that this game.

Wow a good rugby management game, think the next version is going to be great, getting closer to Football Manager, keep it going.