Pumas' 'passion' adds new dimension to southern hemisphere battle

Argentina's successful entrance onto the Rugby Championship stage has been hailed by SANZAR boss Greg Peters.

SANZAR boss Greg Peters has heaped praise on Rugby Championship debutants Argentina and hailed the 'new dimension' they brought to the latest battle for southern hemisphere supremacy.

The Pumas realised a long-harboured dream by going head-to-head with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and while they may have failed to notch an historic first victory, they certainly made an impression both on and off the field.

"We have been absolutely delighted with Argentina coming into the Rugby Championship for the first time this year," enthused Peters. "They have lived up to everything we hoped they would do in terms of being competitive and showcased the Rugby Championship and Argentina in fantastic style. They brought a new dimension to it in the way the games are presented and the passion of their fans added a new dimension which is just what we hoped it would do."

Those fans, starved for so long of an annual Tier 1 competition where they could witness their side tackle the best in the world, did not limit their affection to the Pumas. "To get sell out crowds for the three games was an amazing achievement in year one for what is a football-mad country," added Peters. "Even more stunning were the viewing numbers that ESPN pulled in for that territory that came very close to what we would expect to get out of South Africa. There were really big numbers, particularly for the All Blacks game, and the surprising thing for us was that they were following the other games as well. The fans have bought into it big time which is a credit to all the work that Agustin Pichot, the UAR and many others in the country have put in to get them to this stage."

The addition of Argentina to an already gruelling match and travel schedule provided a headache or two for the SANZAR partners while the 'isolated' incidents that saw fans shine laser pointers at players were another unwanted distraction. But Peters insists the positives far outweighed the negatives. "They have been glowing in their tributes," Peters said of the feedback he had received from the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks. "It is a unique country. The All Blacks had to travel for about an hour to get to the venue but they were accompanied by about 28 police motorcycles and a helicopter and they pulled out all the stops.

There is no doubt Argentina has brought a new vigor of passion to the Rugby Champioship, I enjoyed watching them play and I am confident they will become a very powerful team in world rugby.

Setting up some provincial teams that play the same season as the SH has to be the next step. Probably a long way off though unfortunately.

Echo these thoughts.

Argie - I posted an article about a Puma lock heading to the Hurricanes next year. No names mentioned as yet. Wondering if you might know who?

chewed_mintie wrote:Echo these thoughts.

Argie - I posted an article about a Puma lock heading to the Hurricanes next year. No names mentioned as yet. Wondering if you might know who?

I don't know nothing about that.