Country game artist loved to begin with (5)
I believe the answer is:
rural
'country' is the definition.
(I know that country can be written as rural)
'game artist loved to begin with' is the wordplay.
'game' becomes 'ru' (rugby union).
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'to begin with' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'loved' is 'l'.
'ru'+'ra'+'l'='RURAL'
(Other definitions for rural that I've seen before include "Countrylike" , "Rustic" , "living in the countryside" , "Not urban" , "Pastoral or agricultural" .)