HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA–At noon the rugby pitch was formally named after Johnny Ellis who co-founded the rugby team in 1968 with Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, Paul Reiber. Two early supporters of the Rugby Club were Professor John Brinkley '59, who had developed a love of the game when he studied at Oxford University, and Dr. John Hinchcliff, a philosophy professor at H-SC during the 1970s, who had played the sport in his native country of New Zealand. After Professor Hinchcliff left, there was no real rugby coach until the arrival of Dr. Saranna Thornton. She had played rugby in college and graduate school and coached the women's team at Colby College for three years. Johnny Ellis has played rugby for 47 years. He played for U.S. and international teams, and is the first coach of the highly successful Norfolk Blues Men's team. Besides members of the current team, dozens of H-SC ruggers from years gone-by attended the field naming ceremony as did several members of the Board of Trustees.