RUGBY players have travelled hundreds of miles to help raise thousands of pounds for charity through a game in Haddington.
East Lothian and Haddington Barbarians Vets welcomed Wooden Spoon Vets, coached by former Scotland international Tim Visser, to Neilson Park on Saturday.
The visitors would come out on top but Visser highlighted the most important aspect was benefitting the good cause.
He said: “Wooden Spoon is the children’s charity of rugby.
“We try to raise as much money as we can for local causes; disabled and disadvantaged kids in Scotland in this case.
“There were a lot of rugby players from all the way down in Essex, London, Birmingham and Cheshire who came and supported us.
“There is a good network throughout the UK who are willing to give up their time.”
Visser, who was capped 33 times for Scotland, watched on from the sidelines, having dislocated his shoulder playing in a previous match in Birmingham.
He was pleased to say the contest was played in “a good spirit”, with the host club putting on a Burns supper after the match and more than £6,000 being raised.
Visser, who is now a property developer, told Courier Sport he had “no idea” about the score, with “a hell of a lot for us and a little bit less for them”.
The 34-year-old was born in the Netherlands but would move to Britain and play for Newcastle Falcons, Edinburgh Rugby and Harlequins.
He would go on to become a key part of the Scotland set-up, scoring in five Six Nations contests and at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.
Scotland begin their quest for a first ever Six Nations title on Saturday with the Calcutta Cup clash with England at Murrayfield.
Visser said: “I loved representing Scotland; it was absolutely amazing.
“There is no better feeling than playing at Murrayfield in the Six Nations.
“It does not get much more special than that.
“For me, it was extra special to have my adopted country, being Dutch, being accepted by the Scottish people.
“Representing such a fantastic country was phenomenal.”
East Lothian’s interest in the annual competition will be piqued by the potential debut of Rory Darge.
READ MORE: Rory Darge called up to Scotland's Six Nations squad
The former North Berwick RFC youngster has twice been named in the Scotland squad but is yet to pull on the dark blue jersey.
Visser admitted he knew little about flanker Darge, of Aberlady, but felt Scotland had a good chance of winning the tournament.
He said: “We have got some world-class players at the moment.
“The group has started to settle a bit under Gregor Townsend and it always comes down to how fit you can keep the squad throughout.
“One or two injuries in key positions – Finn Russell, Hamish Watson and Stuart Hogg – and you really struggle.
“Fingers crossed we keep the big stars fit and we will do pretty well this year.
“I’m not looking any further than the England game.
“We have got a fairly good record in recent years and it is a barometer of where we are.”
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