Tim Visser will be considered for Scots’ summer tour, confirms Andy Robinson

TIM Visser is poised to make his Scotland debut on next summer’s southern hemisphere tour, a third professional team could be a live possibility in two to three years and Brisbane has the best pies.

These were some of the nuggets coaxed out of Scotland head coach Andy Robinson when he hosted a Q&A with supporters on Twitter yesterday. In a quickfire quiz, limited by the 140-character rule of the social networking website, Robinson confirmed that Edinburgh’s prolific Dutch-born winger will be brought straight into the Scotland set-up as soon as he becomes eligible under the IRB’s three-year residency rule at the end of the season in time for the tour to Australia, Fiji and Samoa.

In response to a question by OspreysAngel15, Robinson said: “Tim qualifies in June and yes, if fit, he will be considered for the southern hemisphere tour.”

Visser has been a revelation at Edinburgh and finished as top Celtic League tryscorer in the past two seasons.

Reflecting on the recent World Cup campaign, which saw Scotland bow out at the group stages for the first time after close pool defeats to Argentina and England, Robinson said: “Team spirit and cohesion were great and performances to get into two winning positions v Arg/Eng very positive. . . As for lessons, we have to take the opportunities we create.”

Sloppiness at the restarts immediately after scoring points surrendered the initiative at crucial times and led to fatal scores by both the Pumas and the auld enemy. When asked if he would be “beasting them on restarts when you get them back in camp” the Englishman admitted: “Still having nightmares about lost restarts, they were very costly.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming Six Nations, Robinson hinted that there may be opportunities for young talent to break into the national squad.

In reply to a question by Scott Fraser on which young players had caught his eye with a view towards the championship, which begins with the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield on 4 February, Robinson said: “Been delighted with young players for Gla & Edi i.e [David] Denton, [Stuart] McInally, [Stuart] Hogg, [Duncan] Weir, [Harry] Leonard, [Grant] Gilchrist, [Rob] Harley and Matt Scott.”

GorillaShea asked for views on a third professional team and if Robinson will commit to Scotland beyond 2015. The coach did not address the second part of the question but, on the third pro-team issue, opined: “As we develop more young players over next 2-3 years, it’s something that should considered.”

Scotland has been restricted to two professional teams since the demise of the Border Reivers, although the encouraging performances of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the early stages of the Heineken Cup this year has provided a welcome feelgood factor following the disappointment of the early World Cup exit.

Glasgow enjoyed a last-gasp win over Bath in their opener, while Edinburgh have enjoyed thrilling back-to-back victories away to London Irish and at home to French side Racing Metro in a sensational 48-47 match. “3 wins out of 4 is a great start and if we maintain form through later rounds it will have a big effect on 6 Nations,” tweeted Robinson.

“I was at the Edi v Racing game, fantastic attacking display from both teams and great to see Murrayfield rocking.”

When asked what he considered to be the best moments of his two-and-a-half years in charge of Scotland he said: “The two wins in Argentina are a real highlight and beating South Africa after losing to NZ last autumn.”

In what was often a lighthearted exchange, any thoughts on leading the Lions in 2013, dwarf-throwing and the ructions ravaging his homeland in the wake of their disastrous World Cup campaign were notable by their absence. But there was one interesting scoop to emerge. In answer to the question of which stadium in the world he had sampled the best pie while travelling with the Scotland team, Robinson revealed: “Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, cheese and onion pie as I’m a vegetarian.”