Scotland's Tim Visser announces retirement from international rugby

Harlequins wing Tim Visser has announced his retirement from a 33-cap Scotland career.

Tim Visser has decided to give up playing international rugby for Scotland to concentrate on his club career. Picture: SNS

The Netherlands-born 30-year-old, who was one of the first players to qualify for Scotland on residency grounds after a move from Newcastle to Edinburgh in 2010, he went on to score 14 tries for his adopted country.

Visser, who left Edinburgh in 2015 to join Harlequins and recently extended his contract with the London club, said: “I feel now is the time to say goodbye to international rugby and concentrate on my club career,” said Visser.

“Playing for Scotland has been the biggest honour of my life. I feel it has been even more special by not being my country of birth but where I had grown to call home.

“Being asked to play for a top nation in world rugby and being accepted by my team-mates as one of their own has been incredible.

“I can still remember my home debut against the All Blacks as if it were yesterday and the emotions that it brought me.

“However, international rugby brings many challenges and, with a young family, the time away from home has been hard.

“I also feel that Scotland is in a fantastic place with some great young talent coming through and now is my time to free up the space for them to develop.”

A prolific tryscorer, Visser, who was the first Dutch-born player to play professional rugby, scored two on his Scotland against Fiji in Lautoka in 2012. In a neat piece of symmetry his last cap also came against Fiji in Suva on last summer’s tour.

Visser was left out of Gregor Townsend’s autumn Tests squad as the national coach said he felt some areas of his game needed to be worked on. He was also left out of the initial Six Nations, before being called into camp during the tournament but failing to make any matchday squads.

When Glasgow wing Tommy Seymour was injured, Townsend turned to Edinburgh full-back Blair Kinghorn on the wing to make his first start in Dublin after winning his first cap off the bench in the Calcutta Cup game.