EA continues to raise the bar when it comes to realism in its rugby games. Expanding on last year's Rugby 2005 offering, Rugby 06 includes just a few new features, but each is significant.

On top of the excepted sequel-isms like more teams and updated leagues, key improvements are found on the pitch (aka, the field). These include the ability draw defenders and then pass off the ball to a team-mate just as you're being tackled, taking them down with you while the play goes on. There's also "Impact Players," rugby greats that can be called upon in a pinch for their quicker speed and generally superior wallop.

Graphically, Rugby 06 is only as good as last year's, which wasn't bad at all, while the actual player animations are much improved; convincing enough to pass for a game you'd watch on TV if you weren't busy playing it, right down to the plausibly painful reality of those bone-crushing tricks you learned in the tutorials, some of them not even legal. Still, menus are sloppy and hard to read, even on a big screen TV, so there's reason yet to pine for Rugby 07.

Nevertheless, when EA says "if it's in the game, it's in the game," they aren't kidding around. Rugby 06 packs it all in there, even the Guinness Premiership (apparently a big scoop), making it the best rugby game yet, which is sure to please hardcore rugby fans, even those that insist on calling it football.