Rugby: Edinburgh need to be consistent to see off Scarlets, says Visser

Published on Friday 26 March 2010 09:38

TIM VISSER has urged Edinburgh Rugby to prove that their runaway win last time out was no flash in the pan.

Edinburgh swing back into action against Llanelli Scarlets at Murrayfield tonight for the first time since thrashing Ospreys 33-17 on Sunday 7 March, also in the Capital. That game propelled winger Visser to outright top of the Magners League try-scoring charts as his hat-trick took him up to six in total in 2009/10.

Since then he has also been named as Edinburgh's player of the season so far in a fans' poll but the 22-year-old Dutchman refuses to get over-confident about success.

"We've played Scarlets away this season and it was a really hard game," he said. That ended in a 17-16 win, and the Dutchman added: "I'd have welcomed facing Sean Lamont of Scotland because challenging yourself against the best is how you learn.

"Sean isn't playing after the Six Nations Championship but I know that the threat from another Scarlets winger, Andy Fenby, will be strong from our time at Newcastle together before I moved to Edinburgh.

"What we really must do is not get on our high horse and instead keep working on what we need to work on.

"There is no point playing the way we did one week and losing the game after."

At the same time Visser admitted to a sense of satisfaction at the way Ospreys were dismantled and he hailed the try by fellow wing Mark Robertson when he ran more than half the length of the pitch as "brilliant".

Visser added: "To get back into our stride scoring tries was brilliant and it has taken us up to second place in the league with the opportunity to feature in the play-offs by eventually finishing in the top four.

"The aim is to stay in the top four and, with Glasgow lying third, if things remained that way we'd face them in the semi-final.

"What a boost for Scottish rugby that would be.

"As for getting a fans award it is much appreciated to have my efforts recognised."

Visser's ability to outdo the five league tries of Aled Brew (Dragons), Fionn Carr (Connacht), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Tom James (Cardiff) and Nikki Walker (Ospreys) has been helped by using the time when the majority of the Edinburgh squad have been engaged on Six Nations duty for extra practice sessions.

Visser said: "There are a lot of things to work on defensively, both individually and as a team.

"During the international period I have had time to reflect and I wasn't satisfied with my defence against Ospreys and weaknesses always show up when you aren't playing regularly.

"That meant staying on after training, although there is a limit to how much you can simulate match-day tackling. However, as the games come more frequently again it'll get better."

Should he remain at Edinburgh and qualify for Scotland on residency grounds in 2012, a continuation of Visser's current form would surely find him a place in the national set-up. He admits to being "flattered" by the speculation but says he's looking no further than the Scarlets game.

Scarlets coach Nigel Davies is promising a different approach in an attempt to end a run of defeats in Edinburgh stretching back to when the new regional side was formed five years ago. "It is frustrating that we have such a poor record in Edinburgh," he said. "Lots of teams struggle up at Murrayfield where it's a massive stadium, there's little atmosphere and the conditions are often tricky.

"Our kicking game will be important and we will need to be accurate.

"It challenges you to think about doing things differently – a lot of it is making sure our players are mentally right for this game.

"The game is at night so we're going to be managing the player's day and schedule more closely, to ensure their mindset is right and that they're up for this game. There is no reason why we can't come away with a result if we are accurate enough.

Davies' side have qualified for the quarter-finals of the second tier European Amlin Challenge Cup, where they visit Toulon next month, and one player Edinburgh must be wary of is 23-year-old stand off Rhys Priestland. He only needs three points to become just the fifth player this season to reach a century of league points and will be looking to extend a run of four consecutive successful kicks.

Edinburgh

15 Thompson

14 Robertson

13 De Luca

12 Cairns

11 Visser

10 Godman

9 M Blair (c)

1 Traynor

2 Kelly

3 G Cross

4 MacLeod

5 S Turnbull

6 MacDonald

8 Rennie

7 Roddy Grant

Substitutes:

Ford

Jacobsen

J Hamilton

Newlands

Laidlaw

D Blair

Houston

Scarlets

15 Evans

14 Williams

13 King

12 Davies

11 Fenby

10 Priestland

9 Roberts

1 John

2 Owens

3 R Thomas

4 Welch

5 Day

6 Turnbull

8 Lyons (c)

7 Pugh

Substitutes

Manu

Rees

Reed

McCusker

Knoyle

Newton

Maule

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)