The Hampton Rugby Club plays in the little-noticed Peninsula conference in Rugby Virginia.

Overlooked thanks to more established teams such as West End and Fort Hunt in the North, and other heavy-hitters from DC and North Carolina, Hampton has just been steadily chugging along - perhaps we should say dominating.

After their 20-0 shutout of Buckroe on the 18th, Hampton is 4-0, having scored 169 points and allowed … 3. That’s right. Four games, one penalty goal.

Hampton is a team that serves players from a low income region. The players, for the most part, aren’t starters on the football or basketball teams. They come from all walks of athletic life.

“We were just talking about how lucky we are that we attract the right kids for the team,” said Head Coach Shari Wilson. “These kids aren’t necessarily playing another sport. They might have been playing football and become tired of it, but a lot are completely new to sports. But they come and love the atmosphere, and they’re hooked. They’re a good group of kids.”

The program is centered more around developing the camaraderie of the game than worrying about wins and losses. As a result, the team comes first.

“They really have bought into the team concept,” said Wilson. “They are students of the game. They watch and analyze film. We train five days a week, and they have learned that even growing up in a tough neighborhood, you can be a gentleman.”

The program, in its fourth year, is so successful that it has expended to post-grad. The Heat Elite is a team made up mostly of former Hampton players who are of college age but not in a college that has a rugby team (or not in college at all). They play in the Cardinals DII Conference, and have done well - so well that opposing teams have started recruiting those players to go to their school.

Wilson has brought in her HS players to work with the Heat Elite, serving as water carriers and helping the team in other ways. They young players learn, and the older players see the chain of success stay strong.

Wilson was reluctant to tell us standout players, simply because it’s about the team, but No. 8 David Day epitomizes the team ethos, plus he's enthusiastic and sets the emotional tone and is a textbook tackler. Kyle Bruno is a small scrumhalf who was converted to flanker because Wilson liked his moxie. Those are the kinds of players that succeed at Hampton, and these are the kinds of players that have made Hampton succeed.

After a week off, Hampton finishes their league play against Denbigh, a team that is 3-0-1 and their closest rivals. Then it’s on to the playoffs. Maybe that’s a bit too far ahead. Right now, it’s time to recognize a team that is winning, and winning based on the one thing everyone loves about the game - the team.