While scouring the Internet for the best news and clips to share with you, we tracked done a unique method used to answer the old rugby union vs. rugby league question. We know that computer simulation is used to solve a lot of real-life problems, but this is a new one. A YouTube user called McCrackon has created a video of a rugby match created on EA Rugby 08 (or possibly an earlier version of the game) pitting an all-star cast of union players (as the Barbarians) against a Queensland Maroons all-time greats side (as the Queensland Reds).

What was the result? See for yourself (but be warned that the game footage is filmed directly from a monitor, so it flickers and may bother some viewers):

We’re not sure what this solves given that (among other things) the Maroons’ players would have been custom-created for the match and would therefore have whatever attributes the player wanted, but the idea is an interesting one and it looks like a lot of effort went into setting up the digital showdown. If you’ve got a rugby video game, try out your own contests and let us know the results!

In any case, the match should promise some exciting rugby, as is evidenced by these brief highlights from their 2007 end-of-the-year clash with South Africa:

And of course, no discussion of the Barbarians is complete without a mention of their famous 1973 match against New Zealand, a few classic moments from which are below: