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MEET Scotland’s hardest rugby team – fresh from the country’s toughest housing schemes.

Most of the players had never picked up a rugby ball until they were brought together for a new reality TV show.

But even the mighty British Lions would be impressed by how tough they are – at least 10 of the 27-strong squad from Glasgow have been victims of knife attacks, with one stabbed 18 times.

Most are from Possil but others come from Springburn, Maryhill, Dennistoun, Govan and Royston – some of the most deprived areas in the UK.

Social inclusion charity School of Hard Knocks run sports courses aimed at tackling unemployment, crime and poor health. Their inspirational work has been documented by Sky five times since 2007.

Former rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood and ex-Wales captain Scott Quinnell helped train the Glasgow players over eight weeks. In the trailer for the show, one player says: “I’ve been stabbed several times. My right lung collapsed – I started spitting up blood.”

Another tells viewers: “Glasgow’s Glasgow – you know what it is. It’s a good place and a bad place. But you can’t choose where you are born so you just have to make the best of it.”

But he says School of Hard Knocks has turned his life around, while another thinks it’s “the greatest thing he has ever done”. Another participant says “stuff like this just doesn’t happen to people like me”.

A production crew member said: “We were based at Ashfield Junior Football Club’s Saracen Park in Possilpark on the border with Springburn.

“When looking around, we noticed there was a lack of rugby clubs in the area, so we felt it would be a great challenge.

“We had to train at local Eastfield park with the final match being played on the football pitch at Ashfield, which we converted into a rugby pitch.”

In one episode, they took part in a training session in the snow at Ashfield with the Scotland team during the Six Nations tournament.

They got the chance to mix with stars including Lions heroes Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Ryan Grant, Al Kellock, Ruaridh Jackson and Rob Harley.

Rugby league coaches Barrie McDermott and James Lowes taught the players the art of hard tackling.

Off-field work included showing them how to prepare for job interviews with motivational psychologist Paul Boross.

The team played HMP Oakwood near Wolverhampton. And the finale was a match against Allan Glens Rugby Club of Bishopbriggs.

The charity linked up for the series with north Glasgow housing association NG Homes.

Jack Lewars, School of Hard Knocks operations director, said: “We were really keen to establish a presence in Scotland and the series gave us the perfect opportunity.

“We also realised we needed local knowledge to address the specific circumstances of Glasgow and that was where NG Homes came in.”

The course will be broadcast in four one-hour episodes beginning in September on Sky Sports HD.