If you are new to Rugby League then playing Rugby League Live 3 for the first time may be a bit daunting. While at it's core Rugby League is quite simple there are some important concepts to be learned which will make things a lot easier when progressing through the difficulty settings in Rugby Leauge Live 3. Alas though it is a game and like all games RLL3 has some quirks which don't nessicarily translate to Rugby League. With that in mind this guide will go through some basic concepts of Rugby League and also point out helpful game tips to help improve your overall play.

While in possession of the ball teams are allocated 6 tackles before they must hand over possession. In laymans terms, when you are on attack you have 6 chances to score a try where upon the 6 tackle you will give the ball to the other team. Generally each 'chance' is reffered to as a 'Tackle'. During attack you will hear the Ref shout 'Tackle X' where X corresponds to how many tackles you have used.

If you are an American Football fan who has never watched Rugby League before Sets may look very familar to you as some of the basic points of a set are very similar to those of a Down in football but without the ability to gain a new Down.

Since you are limited to how many chances you have to score in any given set it is imperative to fully complete it. Generally this means not turning over the ball (turnover) during your set. What you will want to do is decide on how you want to use your Set. For example you may choose to use the first two tackle counts to gain meteres through your Forwards (Big Men/Fat Blokes). Since the opposing team must retreat 10 meters after every tackle it means that you should be able to gain at least 7 to 8 meters on each tackle. You can then use Tackle 3 and 4 to attack the opposing line with your backs (Speedy Delicate Lads).

Critically the most important Tackle Count is 'Tackle 5', this is the last chance you will get in attack before turning the ball over after being tackled. As such this tackle would generally involve you using your Playmaker to kick the ball upfield (We will talk about this in Tactical Kicking). If you decide to run the ball on Tackle 5 make sure you score otherwise you may potentially give the opposing great field position.

Remember this, if the opposing team must retreat 10 meters on each tackle you potentially can gain at least 50 meters per set if you complete them correct. If you fail to complete the set then you are losing free meters that you could gained.


One habit that everyone can fall into is want to score every time they get in possession. This is understandable, the majority of sports games revolve around this basic concept. However in RLL3 it is a sure way to get frustrated.

A basic example of this is receiving a kick off. Depending on the depth of the kick you will probably start your first posession at the 10 or 20 meter line. It is very very unlikely that from this field possesion that you will score. If you start your set here with intent to score of every tackle then more then likely you will turn over the ball or cause your team to loose a ton of stamina.

In these situations you need to play for field position. Your aim is not to score a try but to be able to get a good kick that will let you pin the opposing team back in their half.

Here is a blueprint for completing such a set.

• Tackle 1: Your initial tackle off the kick off, you start around the 10 meter line
  
• Tackle 2: Use one of your Forwards to perform a hit up (Click and Hold the Right Analog).
  
• Tackle 3: Run from dummy half (Where the player receives the ball after his team mate is tackled) to gain easy meters.
  
• Tackle 4: Use one of your Backs to attack the line (with a fend or side step) to make some meters.
  
• Tackle 5: Punt the ball into space in the opposing teams half (Make sure to chase!)

If you do the above you will probably get the other team to begin their set within their 20 meter line. Then it will be up to your defence to make sure they don't get good meters so you can start with better field position to launch an attack from.


When you really start hunting for a try you will notice that the AI tends to put up a brick wall of defenders infront of you which may look extremely difficulty to break through. However this is not always the case, there are oftentimes when the AI will leave a gap between defenders which you can attack.

Here is an example of this in my game against the AI. I am playing as the Broncos versus Dragons. I have my Center Jack Reed take the ball on the blindside. I quickly identify the space I need to attack and then sprint into it

As you can see I go straight through the space and the defence is tool slow to react to me. In this case it turned out I was attack against a SecondRow (Who would be slower then my Center) and a Five/Eight (Who was also slower then my defender)

These gaps may not always be there, but when they are make sure to exploit them.


Kicking is an incredibly important aspect in Rugby League and in RLL3 you have four kicks at your dispoal to help you. These are the Punt(Toe Kick), the Bomb (Up and Under for RU fans), the Grubber and the Chip kick.

Each of these kicks can be used to either score off or put yourself in better field position, knowing which one to use can be vitial to making a positive play.

Punt (Toe) Kick

Probably the most frequent kick you will use. You will use this to drive the opposing team back deep into their own half. The Punt kick is so useful that it is easier to know when to stop using it rather then when you should use it. This can be achieved by watching how far your Playmaker can kick the ball, once you know how far you can kick it you can then decide to switch to more 'offensive' kicks. For example when you are on the Opposing teams 30 meter line a Punt Kick is probably not what you want to be using.

Below is an example of kicking into space on the 5th and following up with a good tackle. Pay attention to where we tackle the opposing player.

Kick into space.

Fielded on the 20 meter line.

Tackled on the 27 meter line.

• Used to drive an opposing team back into their own half.
  
• Used to get a 40/20 (kicking from within your 40 yard line to behind the opposing teams 20 yard line.
  
• Drawback is that it gives the Fullback a chance to counter attack.

Bomb(Garryowen/ Up and Under) Kick

An excellent offensive kick the Bomb will be your staple kick when you are looking to score on the opposing teams 10/20 yard line. The basic premise here is simple, kick the ball as high and as far as possible putting pressure on a defender to catch it. Your options here are straight forward you can look to simple contest the catch by catching it and hoping that when you land you can immediately score or you can be even more creative by 'patting' the ball back in a given direction for another player to pick up (be careful that the opposing team does not catch it and goes off to the races).

When aiming this kick be careful of placing it in the in goal area of the opposing team as if an opposing player catches it there they will get to start their Set on the 20 yard line.

Grubber Kick
Grubber kicks are great way for pressuring an opposing team. The idea here is simple, a low kick (think of it like a football kick) that can bounce in your favour. One example of this is shown below. In this instance I am on the break with my winger, I don't have enough space though to get past the last man, so I choose to grubber kick ahead knowing that I will either beat the man to the ball and get the try or at least tackle the opposing player on or near their goal line.

As you can see here I am going to get tackled regardless, so I think the opportunistic play of grubber it forward into space