Tim Visser switches focus to his old Edinburgh pals
Failing to qualify directly for Europe’s top competition via the Premiership, Quins had a tilt at winning the Challenge Cup last season to clinch the last remaining spot.
The qualifying system has changed this season however and winning the lesser European crown will only take you to the qualifying play-offs with two Pro12 sides and one from the Top14.
But, after falling at the last hurdle against Montpellier in the final last May, Quins are desperate to have another go and celebrate the club’s 150th anniversary in style.
They kicked off their campaign on Thursday with a thumping of Stade Francais and Visser is now looking forward to a trip to his old side Edinburgh next week.
“Winning trophies is what matters to us as a club and as players, and winning the Challenge Cup is one way to do that,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“We want to go one better this season and team selection reflected that on Thursday. We put our strongest team out on the field which shows how serious we take this competition.
“We’re not going too well in the Premiership so maybe it can give us some momentum to go back in the league in two weeks. It was a short turnaround after our game against Northampton last Saturday so we kept training to a minimal.
“But we managed to perform and get the win which is great.
“We now have ten days to prepare for Edinburgh next week. I haven’t been back there for a while so it’ll be great to go back to Murrayfield and take on my old friends.”
Visser showed the kind of form that earned him 26 Scotland caps, picking up two tries and setting one up.
If he can keep this form, he could be an outside bet for Lions selection next summer but he is not one to get carried away.
He said: “Playing for one of the home nations, the Lions is the ultimate team to represent but I’m not looking further than regaining my jersey for Scotland and that comes from playing well for Quins.
“I missed the tour to Japan due to a knee injury and I had a slow start to the season so I’m happy I can rediscover some form.
“I love to play against French teams because they approach the game the same way I do. They like to throw the ball around and it suits us. That’s when I tend to come off well and it showed with those two tries.
“That first try with Mike Brown lifting the ball blind over his shoulder for me is world-class play and it made for a great try. We’ll look back at it with a smile on our faces.”
NICK VERDIER
