Visser: ‘freak’ show can have a happy ending
Winger senses that decade-long wait for win over Wales is near
TEN years have passed since Scotland last beat Wales, but winger Tim Visser is confident of a home win at Murrayfield this afternoon – provided the team put in an 80-minute effort.
Back in the side in place of the injured Sean Maitland, Visser is up against the man he calls “a freak of nature” – 6ft 4in, 17-stone Welsh winger George North.
“George is a big, physical guy – a bit of a freak of nature, to be honest,” he said. “He’s an established international and Lions player and we all know what he’s going to bring.”
North is one of the most physically imposing backs in the game and Visser is known for his tryscoring ability rather than his defence.
But the Dutch-born No 11 is sure that Scotland can end that decade-long wait for a win against the Welsh, and insisted that defeat in France last time out had done nothing to dent the squad’s confidence.
“I’m the eternal optimist,” he said. “The stats don’t lie: Wales are a good team. We’ve had some narrow defeats against them in recent years.
“I remember losing here by three points a couple of years back.
“Going to the Millennium Stadium is hard, but it’s always a different game at Murrayfield. I remember last year at this time against France and it was a similar story – 10 years [without a win], but we beat them.
“You’ve got to take losses in your stride and move forward,” Visser continued when asked about the 22-16 loss in Paris two weeks ago.
“We’ve done that. We’re by no means the finished article and no one in the team will say that, but we have to stay confident.
“The Ireland game [which Scotland won 27-22] was really uplifting and it was brilliant to start with that win.
We were full of confidence going to France and with our recent track record against them you’d have hoped we could pick up a win there, which we obviously didn’t.
“But there’s a lot of confidence going into this game.
“It’s always tough to take a defeat in a game you went into feeling confident.
“To not get that result was tough, but it’s a long campaign and especially nowadays with the new rules concerning losing bonus points it’s very important you see out every game.”
The games against Ireland and France were decided in the closing minutes, and we can expect something similar this afternoon, according to Scotland assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys.
Two late Greig Laidlaw penalties gave the Scots the win over Ireland, but then they lost to France after being level with 10 minutes to go.
Statistics show that the Welsh improve as the match goes on, Humphreys explained, so Scotland will look to their substitutes to take the game to the visitors.