A SCOTS rugby squad weighing in at around 1.2 tonnes is raising money for charity – by pole dancing.
The medicine students from Glasgow University have suffered months of severe pain to get their seductive routine right.
The 12 hunks are ditching their muddy, sweat-stained rugby kit for swim shorts and tank tops to pole dance to tracks by the likes of Shania Twain.
They have been tutored in the fine arts of the performance art by the university’s pole dancing society.
Learning to pole dance could even reduce injuries on the rugby pitch after the team were taught a new hamstring-stretching technique.
The rugby club, Med-Chir RFC, came up with the idea as a way of raising money for asylum seekers and have been practising since January this year.
The big night is Tuesday this week at the university’s Queen Margaret Union. It is hoped that at least 300 people, paying £5 a ticket, will watch the boys swap rucks for reverse stag spins.
Player Joe Mullally, who is in his fourth year, said: “It’s actually surprisingly difficult – the friction burns really hurt.
“A couple of the boys did gymnastics when they were younger but no-one had done anything like this before.
“We’ve come on leaps and bounds in just a few months. Some of the lads can now hang upside-down on the pole with their arms out.
“Everyone has surprised themselves.”
Joe hopes their hard work will help raise thousands for the Unity Centre – a Glasgow-based charity which provides support for asylum seekers in Scotland.
“All the boys were up for it and were really keen,” he added.
“The pole dancing society have been brilliant and really taken care of us. They have even taught us some effective stretches that we will be taking back with us onto the rugby pitch.
“Since we started practicing some of the boys have hurt themselves whilst playing matches, so they will be doing special ‘chair dances’ which don’t involve the poles.
“I reckon it’ll be a night to remember.”
Hilarious pictures shared in the run-up to the event show the muscled men spinning and hanging off the metal poles during practice.
Some snaps highlight the players’ strength, as they can be seen hanging upside-down and kicking their legs out.
They are a stark contrast to the photographs of the boys on the rugby pitch, which show them covered in mud and tackling opposing teams.
