Rugby: Visser will use break to Test his progress

Published on Tuesday 3 November 2009 08:51

EDINBURGH winger Tim Visser believes he can use the break from competitive action to strengthen his all-round game and help the Murrayfield side consolidate their bid for a top-four finish and a place in the Magners League play-offs.

The Dutch-born powerhouse has been an instant hit with Capital supporters having joined the club in May as Andy Robinson's only non-Scottish signing.

Following an impressive debut away to Cardiff Blues which featured his first try for Edinburgh in the 22-21 win, the 22-year-old has brought his 6ft 4in, 16st 10lb frame to bear in eight matches and touched down four times.

With many of his colleagues now involved with Robinson's Scotland squad as they prepare for the Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn test series, Visser will put his time to good use.

"I'll be around Murrayfield most days. We've got a full programme. We have a week off now and then we have three weeks of intense conditioning and working on the little things," he explained.

"We have a lot of short term fitness and weight goals. The conditioning side is going to be massive for me over the next couple of weeks, just to get back in shape and bulk up a little bit more, just like pre-season and reflecting back on the first couple of months in the Magners League."

That process will include an assessment of how Edinburgh, now with Rob Moffat at the helm, have played during a mixed campaign to date. Visser admits that some of the rugby he and his colleagues have produced has fallen short of expectations.

"As a team, I think we've been inconsistent at times. We've played some amazing rugby, won away at Cardiff, won away at Ulster, but then we lost against Leinster and Newport Gwent Dragons at home which is disappointing. The thing we need to work on is getting consistency."

However, now settled into rugby life in the capital and living in South Queensferry with his girlfriend, he has no regrets about his decision to move north. And, he is enjoying the style of rugby that Moffat wants his side to produce.

Visser added: "I think it's gone better than I expected. I went to a new club, got the starts which was a short-term goal, then got some tries and I'm playing consistently quite well, which is something I've not done in the past.

"It's a big boost for me and I'm really enjoying my rugby again. I moved up from Falcons where they were struggling a bit and now we're doing reasonably well. It's good for me to play for a good team and win and score tries.

"We are playing a lot more rugby than I was used to at Newcastle although I don't know if that's the league or the team. It's hard in the Guinness Premiership because it's very forward dominated. My first impression is that we play a lot of rugby in the Magners League and that's great for me because I get a lot of ball."

A trip to face Scarlets on Friday, 4 December will be the next competitive outing for the man who was spotted by Newcastle Falcons while playing at the Amsterdam Sevens. The Guinness Premier outfit offered the then 17-year-old Visser a contract and a place at Barnard Castle School .

He has since been followed to Falcons by younger brother Sep. The Netherlands is not known as a breeding ground for oval ball talent, but Visser has a rugby pedigree with his father Marc having earned 67 caps for the Dutch national side and passed on his passion for rugby to his sons.

"My dad always played," he said. "I used to go to the club and watch him. I was pretty much born into a rugby family. Obviously that's not quite as common in Holland as it is over here but I'm from a big rugby family and a rugby community."

He has opted not to follow his father into the Dutch team, hoping that he will be able to play for Scotland once he qualifies on residential grounds.

However, that is a future ambition which he will only be able to achieve after living in the country for at least three years and, in the meantime, he has other issues to focus on, starting next week when he returns from his week-long break. Then the focus will be on improving his all-round game with a view to achieving his objectives for the season.

"We want to get in the top four and that's one of my biggest goals. Everyone has got to have that goal so that as a team we get there. We really want to get into the top four and play consistent good rugby."