Press kit
Last updated 17 September 2026
Everything a journalist or creator needs to cover Rugby Head Coach, in one place. Take what you want. If you need something that is not here, one email gets it: hello@rugbyheadcoach.com.
Download all assets (zip, 1.4 MB)
Fact sheet
- Title
- Rugby Head Coach
- Developer
- Independent, one person, United Kingdom. Seven years as a strength and conditioning coach in professional rugby. Studio name to follow.
- Genre
- Sports management simulation
- Platform
- PC via Steam. Windows at launch.
- Release
- March 2027. A demo will be playable during Steam Next Fest, 22 February to 1 March 2027.
- Price
- To be announced
- Players
- Single player
- Languages
- English at launch
- Website
- rugbyheadcoach.com
- Steam
- Store page coming; the link will appear here and on the front page.
- Contact
- hello@rugbyheadcoach.com
In one paragraph
Rugby Head Coach is a rugby union management simulation for people who actually watch the game. You take charge of a professional club in one of six leagues, pick the side, set the game plan, run the academy, the medical room and the wage bill, and answer to a board that is always watching. Under it all is a match engine that simulates every game phase by phase, set piece to breakdown to the kicking game, driven by the players' attributes rather than dice. It is built by one developer, a strength and conditioning coach of seven years in professional rugby, and it is coming to Steam in March 2027.
In one line
A rugby union management sim with a match engine that plays the game phase by phase.
What it is
- Six leagues. Clubs across England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy, South Africa, the Pacific, North America and Japan, each with its own calendar, salary rules and competition structure.
- A match engine that plays rugby. Every match is simulated phase by phase: set piece, breakdown, who commits and who holds, where the kick goes, who is in space. Outcomes come from the players' attributes and your game plan, not a possession-and-shots model.
- Selection is the game. A 23 from a 40-man senior squad, a front row you must legally cover, condition, sharpness, form and morale all pulling in different directions.
- The club, not just the team. A three-year plan from the board, a season objective, a confidence rating that moves with results. Finances, the wage bill, the academy, the medical centre, transfers and staff.
- Every player, honestly rated. Current ability against potential, so you know exactly what you are trading away when you pick a side or sign a contract.
- Tactics as a philosophy, then the detail. Start from a style, then work through possession, the breakdown, defence and set piece. The engine plays what you tell it.
- Built for the long game. Multi-season careers. Regens. The 19-year-old who comes good. The board that loses patience.
About the developer
Rugby Head Coach is made by Dan Akenhead, working alone in the United Kingdom. Before moving into software he spent seven years as a strength and conditioning coach in professional rugby. Training load, fatigue, injury risk, what a squad looks like in week six of a block: those are not guesses in this game. He was in the room where those calls were made.
That is also why the work went into the match engine rather than the menus. Most rugby games settle for a result. This one simulates the phases that produce it, set piece to breakdown to the kicking game, because he has spent enough time on a training pitch to know that is where the sport actually lives. It started as the game he wanted to play and could not buy. Interviews, builds and any question about it: hello@rugbyheadcoach.com.
Logos and key art
All artwork here may be used freely in coverage of the game. Please do not stretch the wordmark, recolour it, or place it on a busy background. The transparent logo works on dark and mid-tone grounds; the capsule and header are self-contained.
Logo, transparent PNG, 1280×535
Monogram, 512×512
Main capsule, 1232×706
Header, 920×430
Hero, no text, 3840×1240
Wordmark on dark, 1662×695
Screenshots
Screenshots from the current build are being captured and will be added here. If you need them before then, email and they will come back the same day.
Video
A trailer is in production. Gameplay footage for creators is available on request.
Review and preview builds
Steam keys for press and creators will be available once the store page is live. Ask by email with a link to where you publish.
Social
X: @rugbyheadcoach. Instagram: @rugbyheadcoach. A Discord server is being set up and will be linked here.