Intervarsities begin this Friday in Derry
Daire O’Driscoll
Water Polo Correspondent
Up until this summer the Hungarian National Water Polo team found themselves holding onto a pretty impressive record, having been Olympic Champions in the previous 3 games. Placing that into perspective, it meant that a number of players in the team had not tasted defeat since Atlanta in 1996 while others had not been defeated at an Olympics at all. When any team enjoys such dominance, popularity naturally permeates down to the public. Water polo is the national sport of Hungary, a sport so popular that fans travel all over the world in their droves to support their heroes, including to Dublin this past summer. The popularity of water polo in Hungary cannot be overstated. The top players in the country, the likes of Gergely Kiss and Tamás Kásás, are rumoured to earn up to €500,000 per annum, where the average income of an international rugby player is half of that, and the normal Hungarian would expect to take in €10,000 per annum, as an average industrial wage. It seems natural then that any team looking to train in a top class facility with top class coaches would travel there to improve their game, which is exactly what 18 of the Trinity Water Polo team did in January.
Szeged, the third largest city in Hungary, has a population of 170,012 people; almost all of them water polo mad, and with good reason. The two teams there are amongst the most successful ever in Hungary and the men’s Division One side, Szeged-Beton, had remained undefeated this year, until a hard-fought game in Belgrade saw them go down 8-6 to Partizan in the Champions League on January 9th. Trinity enjoy the fortunate position of being connected to Lazlo Rea, a former professional player with Szeged-Beton and father to Barbara who currently plays on the Trinity women’s side. In November of last year Rea proposed the idea of a training camp in Szeged in the New Year, an opportunity that simply could not be missed. With the annual Intervarsity tournament being held in Magherafelt, Co. Derry in little over a week it was the perfect way to prepare.
The training camp took the form of a number of training sessions followed by challenge matches against the hosts, a formidable side with a quartet of Olympians backing them up. Three games in three days was the test for both of the Trinity sides in Szeged. The women’s team got off to a flying start in their first game, racing into a five goal lead in the first half thanks to some tireless work from club president Heather Murphy. The following two quarters were an edgy affair; the long day of travelling as well as the morning’s training session began to tell on the Trinity women as Szeged initiated a major comeback. But with just 28 seconds remaining on the clock a Szeged move broke down giving Trinity the opportunity to kill the game. A final score of 10-9 to the Trinity women. It was however, to be the only win of the series. The team, despite stellar performances from Fiona Fenton, Deirdre Kindregan and Murphy, were found out by the Hungarian side, losing the final two games.
The men enjoyed a number of periods of dominance, particularly in the third quarters of all three of their games. Szeged however, displayed a greater mental sharpness, a better reading of the game and superior fitness to get off to quick starts and strong finishes, something the men have struggled with all season. Despite the defeats the camp provided a number of positives for the defending National League champions. The emergence of two young players in Rene Graef and Melchior de La Rochefoucauld with exciting futures ahead of them in the game. “The team certainly learned a lot” said Captain Christian Wirtz, “these hours of practice with top class players will most certainly stand to us next week”.
The camp ended in the most exciting and unbelievable of circumstances with the news that Trinity would be invited back to Szeged in August to compete in their annual tournament as guests of the club. The top brass at Szeged were hugely impressed by Trinity’s love and passion for the game, and the determination never to give in or give up. This led them to issue the invitation earlier than would be normally expected. Trinity will take on the current European Champions Dynamo Moscow, the 2013 Hungarian Champions and a number of other national champions. The games will be televised across Eastern Europe and played out in front of a stadium of 20,000 people.
The monumental nature of this invitation cannot be overstated. “It’s akin to the DUAFC playing Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s unbelievable” said Daniel Dalicsek who is currently enjoying his fourth season with the club. Trinity will certainly head into the intervarsity tournament on January 25th brimming with confidence and ready to employ the skills learned in Szeged. The bond now formed between the two universities, two clubs and two cities is something special. As Rick Blaine famously mused in Casablanca: “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
