As much as it may surprise the innocent southern bellies among you, there are places up north where 'football' is a dirty word. So, especially for our readers in Castleford, Leigh, Salford, Wigan and Wakefield - and the oval ball-worshipping halves of Leeds, Bradford and Hull - here's the game you've been waiting for since the day you first donned your short shorts and lunged manfully over the try line.

Packed with every licence imaginable and with international, British and Australian teams, its presentation is flawless. Kits and stadia, like Wigan's JJB Stadium are spot on, though the players themselves look like they've spent the last six years hiding inside a PSone. The controls are as basic as the likenesses: when attacking, you hit L1 or R1 to pass, X to sprint, Circle to kick and R2 to feint. When defending, pressing Square switches between players, X (again) delivers a speed burst and Circle is used to attempt a tackle.

There isn't much more to it than that. You control kick-offs, penalties and conversions using a neat Madden-like kicking meter, but scrums are completely determined by AI. This simplicity means it takes literally seconds to get stuck into the game, but there's disappointingly little to learn beyond those basics. Still, matches are enjoyable enough - although the simple controls inevitably result in formulaic play once you've got the game's measure.

If you can live with the flaws there's plenty to keep you occupied, mainly thanks to a superb Franchise mode. Smartly designed with a wealth of statistics and just the right balance of injuries and suspensions throughout the league, other sports titles - hello, PES and FIFA - could learn a lot from it. This is perfect for those rainy afternoons in t'north when you'd rather laze around on the sofa than get your knees kicked off.

Graphics 40%
Badly drawn boys but atmospheric stadia.

Sound 50%
Generic Aussie commentary mutterings.

Gameplay 60%
Although basic, it's reasonably smooth.

Lifespan 70%
The franchise options are superb.

Overall 60%
PS2 is still lacking a perfect rugby sim, but look past the crude graphics and this is a decent piece of egg-shaped action.