It’s been about 6 months since I’ve posted about The Current kicking off, then came a lengthy silence and maybe it would’ve all gone down should the A-team had not been born. Like that, A-team, and it wasn’t at all up to me, but… Instead of some dry report, please enjoy this musical piece of the cirque de l’eau and a little bit of commentary. 

I think I know quite much about rugby teams, but I never really had an idea, what a coach does. Something I needed myself, something I needed to do myself.
What makes a team? Is it just players, who’d like to score in the same goal?
Why take playing seriously? If you’re good, don’t expect respect or to see a single dime from the insane amount of public funds ( EU & state ) invested into sports.
Apart from improvement in physical skills and condition, the benefits are not obvious. Only you can tell what you get out of playing, and you’ll have to judge if it’s something of worth for you, or you’d rather stick with soccer.
Will this ever make it?
I was faced with such questions and little did I know how to answer them. Such knowledge is hard to obtain. A few teams around the world started UWR so early or were part of a larger sport association so they are more experienced in sport-management or coaching. Most of us rely on trial & error to gain both UWR-specific and generic sports knowledge.
Checking out educational material of other sports just made me freak out. UWR’s closest relative would be water polo, in fact our game often gets mistaken for polo. However, there is a great difference not only in their recognition, but in their culture too. Despite polo also being a bit elitist, niche sport, may I remind you of SONY’s mind-blowing take on Spiderman’s alternative reality with billboards featuring water polo instead of NFL.
Despite all similarities it’d be a mistake to treat both sports alike, rugby possesses not only unique gameplay but an own identity rooted in its’ history of development. It is of great value, which if you are aware of, makes it likely that you won’t be the one needing motivation but the one inspiring others.

Little did I know what to expect at the time the national team was assembled. It would’ve been such an honor to represent Hungary and the other team left me out without a word despite having trouble presenting a formidable set of 12+3 players. On the other hand not only I’ve been losing my confidence but access to pool time too. I may have been the founder of The Current, but I’ve never found the team. It was the team that found me. If it wasn’t for them, I may have given up on this whole idea. Thanks 😉

The Current is a bit of a family business, the core being one of the most skilled trio of Hungary, and a rookie duo. As we were preparing for the game against the youth team, for the first time in my life I was coming up with tactics, even though I didn’t dare to call it as such at the time. Cause I’m watching the video, and it’s there, and we’re rocking it! Although it’s nothing more than positions and exchanges tailored to the players and their dynamics. Like 2 wheels rolling on their own once you sync them?
And more cogwheels can be added to the system, fresh talents, player draws and great comebacks. You put together 2 more wheels and figure out the logistics of switching them. Totally Formula-1. Or bike racing, actually. To stick with the metaphor, each teams spin 2 wheels with 6 spokes where the spokes are placed under periodic tension in pairs. The meantime you’re building a race wheel, a training wheel, kiddie wheel, recreational wheel plus wheels for unique desires like I’d like a diving wheel or a swimming wheel, I’d like my kiddie-wheel to not get flat on one track after another, etc.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the feeling that rugby became something much like a girlfriend. I have to be there even when I’m tired, I’d rather do anything else, and so on. In return it makes me be more like the person I’d like to be instead of who I am. And sometimes when that’s not working out and I’m angry at the world or at myself it lets me help to disappear in the great blue mass, get lost in the game. Starting with the dreamy location of the Hajós Swimming Complex, which is hidden somewhere between Pest and Buda where the river of the Danube flows. It could’ve been a floating pool on the water, but the designer who dreamt up the pools had a massive vision of a concrete cube covered with Dutch clinckers. Ledges, beams, shoulders and rails segment the building and create the impression of rims wrapping the whole mass together. You can tell it was meant to stand the test of time. 90 years later the Hajós is probably still the best location for aquatic sports in Hungary. Great pool staff ensures the title. By the time we have our pool time there aren’t many people in the building but as you jump in the water shuts the world out completely.

Without the sounds of the waves you’d find silence under the surface, although the graz T-shirt motto is not true, screams can be heard underwater. Just there aren’t many as injuries are rare despite the warning look. Throughout a decade of UWR I may have heard screams 2 times, both times some rookie experiencing the different standards of competitive levels, a minor incident in the Czech League. Ok, it’s rugby indeed, but the game is only semi-contact and the rules are easy to follow, such as play fair and avoid being violent. The vague wording of the rules makes UWR a gentlemen’s activity. Unisex trainings with players of all ages barely ever get heated while the top league is facing the question if women should be allowed to play, or if it’s too competitive, therefore physical and risky, so women should have their own league. As of now it seems that women would be admitted to play along which I’d agree with. In biking team races sometimes used age categories based on the sum of the racers’ age. It’d make sense to experiment with weight categories the very same way.
A new kind of water polo/fluid football/aquatic basketball/liquid quidditch. Make a little buzz and reap the hype, all it takes is just
1. moneyz (not even much)
2. gear which is like moneyz again and it’s one of the most manageable needs of a club
3. access to a pool (well, that’s politics for ya, thanks Todd)

It’s getting lengthy, and most visitors are newcomers to UWR anyway, so to recap what you’re about to see: players dressed in white and dark try to toss a ball into a metal basket (goal) and prevent their opponents from doing the same. It’s not allowed to grab the goals or to attack a player who’s not in possession of the ball. Therefore, if you run out of air and you’re being held, you only need to release the ball to surface. The game is a bit fast to follow but the basics are obvious. The first match ended 9:2 in favor of The Current.