Forty angry rugby players from Scotland’s oldest club chased down a pair of thieves and formed a human barricade around them until police arrived after returning from training to find they had been robbed.

The towering Edinburgh Academicals squad realised wallets, money and electrical devices had been fleeced from their clubhouse when they finished on practising close to their Raeburn Place ground.

According to the Edinburgh Evening News, fleet-footed flanker Robin Snape spotted the culprits fleeing towards a getaway car and gave chase with his team-mates in tow. Within seconds the car was surrounded, the keys snatched from the ignition and the thieves safely trapped in the middle of a huge scrum.

Greg Campbell, captain of the Edinburgh Accies, who play in the Scottish Premiership, told the Evening News: “We got back to the clubhouse and they looked a bit suspicious. We asked what they were up to and they said they had just finished training, which we obviously knew was a lie. We asked them for ID and they tried to make a run for it. They didn’t get very far. We managed to catch them at the right time.”

A police spokesman said: “Police Scotland can confirm that officers were called to Comely Bank Road at around 9pm on Thursday 7 following a report of a theft. Two men were detained and inquiries are ongoing.”