SCOTS HAIL GREGOR

TIM VISSeR says incoming Scotland boss Gregor Townsend is the perfect replacement for Vern Cotter.

After the four-try win over Italy, Cotter will swap Murrayfield for Montpellier following a three-year reign as Scotland coach. Kiwi Cotter leaves a team in rude health, having steered them above South Africa and France in the world rankings, and in doing so became the first Scotland coach to rack up a win ratio of more than 50 per cent in the professional era.

And Visser says he expects the Scots, who scored a record 14 tries in this year’s Six Nations, to continue in the same vein when Townsend finishes his coaching duties with Glasgow at the end of this season.

‘I think the style will be similar under Gregor,’ said Visser. ‘If you look at the way Glasgow have played over the last couple of years, they play very exciting rugby — a lot of off-loading, a lot of backs play. It’s great to watch. hopefully, it will be a seamless transition for Gregor.’

And Visser also pointed to Cotter’s work in transforming Scotland into a force to be reckoned with, stating the players owe him a debt of gratitude. ‘he has been great,’ said the wing who scored in the win over Italy, with the other three tries coming from Finn Russell, Matt Scott and Tommy Seymour.

‘he’s always wanted us to play rugby and always wanted us to score tries. he said to us that he wants us to go out there and enjoy ourselves. Some of the tries we’ve scored in this tournament are testament to how much we’ve worked with Vern.

‘he’s quite stern — Stern Vern — but he’s funny. he talks quite quietly but then you’ll walk past him and he will suddenly make a funny remark out of nothing.

‘he’s a great guy. he’s not only moved us forward in the way we play rugby but there’s also a real team ethos now, which is a testament to him.’