Scot gets a little dirty as he tackles with World Championship Rugby.

There's no denying that rugby has been the subject of a surge of popularity ever since Johnny Wilkinson launched that cup-winning kick through the sticks back in November, but it's refreshing to see that World Championship Rugby isn't just a cheap attempt at cashing in on rugby's new-found status. This is the game rugby fans have been waiting for ever since Jonah Lomu Rugby burst through the opposition and slammed the ball past the try line seven years ago. With most of the original team on board, you'd expect the same level of arcade perfection that made Codemasters' hard-hitting opus the number one choice for fans of Britain's second-favourite sport.

You'd be right. World Championship Rugby offers a solid, entertaining arcade conversion of the game that will undoubtedly fuel the desires of the console-loving rugby fans currently wincing in pain as they try and recreate matches from their loving sport with EA's rather mediocre Rugby 2004. There may not be as much depth on offer here, but the emphasis is on strict, straightforward enjoyment rather than a full-on simulation - and it manages it rather well.

You'll soon realise just how easy it is to pick up World Championship Rugby the minute you take your first kick. I mean, let's be frank - here at GAME, we know very little about rugby other than the essentials. We know that there are two teams dressed in figure-hugging shirts each battling for an oddly-shaped chunk of cow. We also know that in order for the team to win, they must either hoist the cow between two sticks or, preferably, slam it down behind the try-line for extra points. There are scrums, line-outs and other technicalities, but beyond that, I'm about as clued-up on rugby as Howard Wilkinson is on managing the England football team.

So, for me to literally pick up the pad with about as much regard for the sport as I have for Murder She Wrote and proceed to enjoy what I considered a thoroughly entertaining take on the game is testament to how well it actually plays. The control system is intuitively simple, triggering most of the game's available moves at the single press of a button. Passing to another player is as easy as pressing L1/R1 depending on the direction you want to throw, while a double-tap will skip over the nearest player and pass it to the next one along the line.

Elsewhere, set pieces all benefit from an informative control diagram designed to help ease new players into the game. Rucks and scrums are both governed by a plain 'bash as hard as you can' system which isn't quite as demanding as it sounds, although extended play will likely result in tired thumbs. Conversions and penalty kicks both work in the same way, in that an arrow points towards the general direction of the kick, and a wind meter gives you some idea of how you'll need to adjust it. Very simple, very suitable.

There are a variety of game modes to choose from, be it just a regular friendly match of a full-blown World Cup. Included is a classic match option as well, which drops you in some of the most important matches in rugby history. These can be unlocked by completing the various competitions and serve as a little extra incentive to pick up the game again.

It's certainly not all wine and roses for rugby fans though. World Championship Rugby suffers occasionally from unholy bouts of slowdown, or at least on the PS2 version I tested anyway. To make matters worse, they inexplicably occur at the most ordinary moments, where nothing particularly strenuous is happening on the screen. The graphics, while not particularly bad, aren't anything special either, and it only amplifies the slowdown problem further. Thankfully, these moments are few and far between and do little to deter the overall enjoyment of the game.

As a spiritual successor to Jonah Lomu Rugby, this does not disappoint. It's an enjoyable game, and while lacking in depth, makes up for it in straightforward, unadulterated arcade fun. For fans of the sport that must pick up a rugby game for their console, they need look no further than World Championship Rugby.