Kicking ... I play sideview so I'm not sure how some of this might apply to classic view people?
...certain players are good at kicking, the majority of the rest are not! don't expect great kicks all the time
- always give the ball to your flyhalf if you want to penetrate with kicks... if your flyhalf isn't in position to recieve the ball from a ruck (perhaps he's at the bottom of the ruck!), just play some crash ball until he is free the next time around.
- don't always go for great length, you get more time to adjust the direction of your kick if you don't hold X (PS2 controller) for as long... this works best if you are just inside the opponents half and want to kick right into the corner... to much power and you give the ball away cheaply
(the longer you hold X, the quicker the kick will occur, as the arrow will reach its optimum length quicker)
- to avoid an opponent fullback when kicking, aim for the touchline first then push for distance, this will shorten your distance but hopefully ensure that you are not immediately on the defensive when the FB plucks your kick from the air. Pushing left or right for distance first and then angling the kick for touch can sometimes leave you with a long kick, but thats no use if it never goes out of play!
- for grubber kicks, generally it is best to not attempt them when an opponent is within tackle distance... if ur in the middle of a kick and get tackled its nearly always a knock-on from you
- there's less chance of a grubber kick going out of touch (with some amazing ball phisics) if you can get the "green kick arrow" to extend to its fullest
- up-an-under's... again, the less you press the button, the further the kick will go, I've found with these types of kick that the arrow actually gets higher and shorter if you prolong the button press... so a quick press and extend the distance with the directional push
- EDIT: Brain malfunction, lemon got it restarted... see the bugs thread for what I was actually thinking of!!!
- try your best to spear tackle the opposing flyhalf when hes trying to kick to safety from inside his 22 from a ruck/maul/scrum... get him and he will knock on/drop the ball for your forwards to pounce on very close to their line... a simple pick and go move from the ensuing ruck should get you a nice 5 points
- when defending an opponents kick into your 22 from midfield, I find it generally better to not hit L2 to change player control, as normally this will change to your fullback and seeing as you can't see where where he is, its best to let the AI attempt to catch/collect the ball for you until the camera has caught up with the play/player
... thats all I can think of at the moment... its by no means a definitive guide, but its just some of the ideas I've come up with from extended play ... and I like to kick alot