Scots display Dutch master on tour

Rugby union: Wing Visser to don dark blue

Edinburgh’s Dutch winger Timvisser willbenamedin Scotland’s summer tour squad today.

The 24-year-old Pro12 players’ player of the year and leading try scorer will on June 12 be eligible for Scotland, qualifying on the grounds of three years’ residency following his move to Edinburgh from Newcastle Falcons.

Visser, who will be 25 on May 29, will therefore miss the opening Test against Australia onjune 5 in Newcastle, New South Wales.

But he could first pull on the dark-blue jersey in the Test with Fiji on June 16 andsamoaaweeklater will offer the prolific wing another opportunity.

After Scotland’s elimination from the World Cup and a six-nations whitewash and the wooden spoon, Visser’s inclusion was perhaps more certain than it was that head coach Andy Robinson would remain.

Robinson agreed to continue his contract, which runs until the 2015 World Cup, buoyed by the potential within the Scotland ranks – noting Edinburgh’s run to the Heineken Cup semi-finals and Glasgow Warriors’ march to the Pro12 play-offs.

Visser, who was brought to Edinburgh by Robinson in 2009, was a key figure in Edinburgh’s European campaign.

He scored four tries in eight appearances in the Heineken Cup this season, coupled with 13 league tries.

“My ambition since I started playing rugby has been to play at international level,” said Visser, whose father, Marc, is a former Holland captain.

Visser’s commitment is a welcome tonic for a Scotland side which has struggled to score tries and is seeking to arrest the worst run since 1998.

Should Scotland suffer an eighth straight Test loss against a likely Australia second-string it would be the poorest sequence of results since a 13-match winless run between 1977 and 1979 (eight straight defeats and two draws).

In the 1950s, Scotland lost 17 successive Tests.

It is something of a new era for Scotland, with Australians Scott Johnson and Matt Taylor coming into thecoachingset-up in place of Gregor Townsend and Graham Steadman.

But the 28-man squad will be without young talent such as number eight David Denton (ankle) and wing Lee Jones (shoulder), two of the few positives from the six nations.

Also missing will be back row Kelly Brown (leg) and lock Jim Hamilton, who was banned for seven weeks for his part in a brawl. Hamilton’s absence could offer an opportunity to Grant Gilchrist, of Edinburgh, or Glasgow’s Tom Ryder.

There is a likely return for Alastair Kellock in the Test XV, meaning the Warriors man could take the Test captaincy once more.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Rugby Union has announced matches against World Cup winners New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga in November.

The All Blacks will visit Murrayfield on November 11 and the Springboks six days later.

Thetonga match is set to take place away from Edinburgh at a venue to be confirmed.

SPEED MERCHANT: Tim Visser can help solve Scotland’s lack-of-tries malady