Rugby 08

Rugby 08 is a rugby union simulation in which the player directly controls members of a team during matches. Movement is controlled with the analogue stick, while separate buttons are used for passing in either direction, sprinting and kicking. Tackling is largely automatic when a defending player is moved into the path of an opponent. The game includes a tutorial intended to introduce new players to its controls and the basic rules of rugby.

The game includes the 2007 Rugby World Cup, featuring all 20 participating national teams and the French stadiums used during the tournament. Other competitions include the Six Nations Championship, Tri Nations, Super 14, Guinness Premiership and European Trophy. The World League mode from Rugby 06 also returns, requiring the player to take control of a lower-division club and progress through the divisions while managing player transfers and recruitment.

Rugby 08 was released for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. It was the final rugby union game published under the EA Sports label before the series went on hiatus.

Rugby 08 received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic, with the PlayStation 2 version receiving a score of 74 out of 100 and the Windows version receiving 63 out of 100.GameSpot awarded the game 7 out of 10, praising its accessible controls, extensive selection of game modes and number of licensed teams and players. The reviewer considered the game easy for newcomers to learn while retaining greater difficulty for experienced players. Criticism was directed at the absence of online multiplayer and the relatively small number of changes from Rugby 06, as well as repetitive commentary.

Todd Zuniga of 1Up.com gave the game a B+, praising the simplicity and intuitiveness of its controls, its fast pace and range of modes. He nevertheless criticised aspects of the scrum system, tackling, kicking camera angles and the game's limited explanation of rugby terminology to inexperienced players.

Rugby 08 has subsequently been regarded by rugby publications as one of the benchmarks of the rugby video game genre. In 2018, Guinness World Records compared rugby video games that had received at least 20 professional reviews. Rugby 08 held a GameRankings average of 74.87%, making it the second-highest-rated qualifying rugby game behind EA Sports' Rugby at 75.56%, and slightly ahead of Rugby 2005 at 74.5%.

In a 2021 article examining the absence of a major modern rugby simulation, Rugby World stated that Rugby 08 remained widely considered superior to the rugby union and rugby league games released during the 2010s.