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Rugby Union: London Scottish Get Army Helping Hand For RAF Win

A second-half fightback from the RAF's rugby stars wasn't enough as they lost to London Scottish - who had a helping hand from the Army.

The Exiles picked 10 Army players, seven of whom started the tie, giving the game a real inter-services flavour.

And the Air Force needed a second-half resurgence to save their blushes at Imber Court.

Five first-half tries from the RFU Championship team looked to have completely swept the airmen aside, with the score 31-0 at half-time.

The first three came inside the first 20 minutes, with the Exiles displaying a mixture of fast-flowing rugby and forward power.

Kicking the conversions was the Army's Owain Davies - a London Scottish squad member.

Then came a period of RAF resolve. The forces side showed signs of what the players are capable of, dominating possession.

RAF vs London Scottish rugby union loss 2018

But they couldn't convert and Scottish scored twice again before the break, with the Army pair of second row Kris Smith and flanker Sonoma Veikune the men to go over.

The light blues found their feet in the second 40 though, with Luke Riddell coming close as they began to apply pressure.

A great pick-up from Sam Breeze led to the first RAF score, with Sean Webber dotting down in the corner.

This momentum was soon halted, however, after a shoulder barge put Jiute Tupua in the sin bin.

London Scottish immediately took back control, exploiting space on the wing for a brilliant touchdown from the Army's Craig Edwards.

But even when down to 14 the airmen hit back, after Matt Clarke was put through thanks to some great phases by the RAF.

A yellow card for Josh Barton then meant Scottish went a man down as Tupua returned to the field - and that advantage allowed the military side to have the final word.

A handling mistake from Scottish allowed Matt Clarke to again carry the ball from the halfway line and a successful conversion left the final score at 36-17.

London Scottish have three regular Army squad members - Pete Austin, Owain Davies and Gareth Smith.

So the RAF will hope it's their second-half side that turns up when they meet the men in red for the opening game of the Inter-Services Championship on April 11.