By The Holland Times Fri. 3 May 2013

One hundred and fifty youngsters aged between 12–18 from all around the Netherlands, took part in the Tim Visser youth rugby day on 27 April.

Tim ,a Dutchman currently plying his trade on the wing for Edinburgh and the Scottish National side, brought along his brother Seb, who plays for the Dutch men’s team and Scottish team mates Ross Ford, Grieg Laidlaw & Dave Denton plus Dutch Women’s Sevens player Mara Moberg.

The weather was friendly as the youngsters were able to participate in rugby specific drills, whilst rubbing shoulders with their sporting heroes.

Marc Visser, ex Dutch rugby international and the father of Tim and Seb was happy at the turnout and the promising skill levels on show.

The occasion marked another milestone for the development of rugby in the Netherlands, as 13-year-old Adriaan Have was on hand to meet NRB President Willem de Jong, who announced the Rugby Club Hilversum junior as the 10,000th registered rugby player.

Jan de Jong of Oudenbosch, Brabant was in attendance with his son and mentioned, “It was an exciting opportunity for him to play alongside top professional athletes.”

“It’s not every day you get this class of international talent giving clinic’s in the Netherlands,” exclaims Jan de Jong.

“The progress is positive and very pleasing from a Dutch Rugby Union perspective,” comments NRB President de Jong.

The Dutch Women’s Sevens team have also just returned from a training camp with the Dutch Special Forces, in Spain. They were busy putting the final touches on preparation for the final leg of the International Rugby Board Women’s Sevens World Series on 17/18 May to be hosted at Amsterdam’s National Rugby Centrum.

The series finale is held in conjunction with the 42nd Amsterdam Sevens tournament, where Tim was scouted by a professional English rugby outfit a few years ago.

On hand over the weekend was also the IRB 2011 Women’s Sevens player of the year Kelly van Harskamp, who alongside Tim are this years Amsterdam Sevens ambassadors.

It is a busy time of year for rugby in the Netherlands this time next year we could well be announcing the 11,000th registered player and several more Dutch players might be plying their trade on the international scene with the likes of Tim and Kelly.

(Photo: NRB)

via Rugby is on the rise in the Netherlands :: The Holland Times.