WHEN 31 mostly large, obviously fit and powerful young men, strode into Edinburgh Airport with their entourage, the general view of others queuing to catch their flights seemed to be bemusement rather than excitement.
They could see the TV cameras and that all the group were wearing some kind of uniform, so it was obviously important. Out came the smartphones for the selfies with group as a backdrop, but few of the visitors from round the world seemed to have much idea what they were witnessing.
Which, as the Scotland rugby team were hurried through check-in and off to the departure lounge, seemed to suit the players just fine. No fanfare, just a business-like bunch of guys off to do their best. The fuss can come if they actually achieve anything.
The fact they opted for a low-key departure suggests a focused approach from the Scots – no distractions, just get on with the job. The target, said Tim Visser, is to reach the quarter finals, then take it from there.
In taking part the wing will fulfil two ambitions — neither, it must be said, of any great antiquity. The first dates back to his time before moving to Scotland when he was at Newcastle, but played at the Falcons' Kingston Park, not the big football stadium as his friend Tim Krul, the Newcastle United goalkeeper, did. "St James' Park is an amazing stadium and to finally get to play there is brilliant. I have always wanted to do that," Visser said.
The second ambition is just to take part in a World Cup, though, after his recent injury problems, that really only became a focus earlier this year when Visser started to get back to some sort of form after recovering from a broken leg.
"I just wanted to get back into the team and making the Six Nations squad was a big target for me after being injured for so long the year before," he said. "Playing a few games here and there in the Six Nations was really good and then one of my big targets was trying to get into this World Cup squad. I only started looking at that after the Six Nations.
"Physically, certainly, I have been progressing nicely the last couple of games. With the kind of leg break I had, it takes a while longer, especially mentally, to get back to where you were. I feel fit now, and a big thanks goes to the fitness and conditioning guys over the summer."
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