Rugby-Peters sees Latin passion as key to Jaguares rise

By Rex Gowar BUENOS AIRES, March 24 (Reuters) - Managing Argentina's new Super Rugby franchise is turning into the kind of edge-of-your-seat ride that first tempted New Zealander Greg Peters to take up a key role with the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR). The exciting brand of attacking rugby that made the Pumas one of the most popular teams at last year's World Cup is now becoming a weekly spectacle from the Jaguares, who are made up largely of Argentine internationals. Former Sanzar CEO Peters, appointed UAR general manager in August, told Reuters that the enthusiasm the Jaguares bring to the game was what drew him to Argentina. "Here, the passion is evident from the moment you walk in the gate, it's alive, the atmosphere is electric," Peters said in an interview at UAR headquarters in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro. "When we scored a couple of tries, the crowd was on fire," the former Sanzar CEO said of the Saturday's home debut at Velez Sarsfield against the Waikato Chiefs from his homeland. "It's the Latin way of living, it's the way people here live their lives, and it's fantastic, we're far more reserved (in New Zealand and Australia), which is not a good thing in my book. "We certainly hope we're the second favourite team of those people who support another country or another team and I think it's a really good goal to have, because the way we're received around the world is really positive for Argentine rugby." Of his own part in the evolution of the UAR, Peters said: "I saw that Argentina was on the cusp of a really strong period in rugby and (there was) the challenge of getting into Super Rugby and being part of that, part of something new, exciting and interesting." Peters said the Jaguares were good enough to do well in the competition once they had adjusted to the demands of playing weekly top-level rugby and long-haul trans-continental travel. RAW MATERIAL "We've got the raw material to do very well in this competition," he said. "The problem is we'll take some time to adapt to the consistent intensity, week in-week out, that is Super Rugby. "That's the challenge and you have to play for 80 minutes and, what we didn't for the first couple of weeks, is keep 15 men on the field." The Jaguares had two players sin-binned in each of their first two matches in South Africa, a debut comeback win over the Cheetahs followed by a narrow loss to the Sharks. Peters said he saw an improvement over the three games the Jaguares have played so far after they almost snatched a victory over the twice-champion Chiefs, going down 30-26 after conceding a late try. "That was a positive step up from a more average performance against the Sharks after the euphoria of winning our first match against the Cheetahs," he said. "It's just understanding that you can't go off the boil in this competition, you've got to be right on top of it. "It doesn't matter what team your playing, someone is going to have a crack at you so you have to be ready for it all 80 minutes," he added. "This is the toughest competition in the world without a doubt... I've always said that the adversity that players face in Super Rugby makes southern hemisphere players tough and go on to perform very well in international rugby." (Editing by John O'Brien)