Dutchman Visser enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence in the 2006/7 season, bursting on to the Guinness Premiership stage in spectacular fashion.

Coming on to the field as a replacement wing for the last ten minutes against Worcester at Kingston Park, his trademark left foot step took him round the last man, scoring what proved to be the winning try with the very last play of the game.

He then followed that up with tries in his next two Premiership outings against London Irish and Saracens, in a season which was to see him make 11 appearances, scoring four tries in total.

All the more remarkable was the fact that only a matter of months earlier he had been playing as a flanker for Barnard Castle School, having been spotted by fellow Falcons Joe Shaw and James Grindal as a raw teenager playing in the Amsterdam Sevens.

Such was the impression made by the young Visser that Shaw immediately alerted then Falcons academy manager John Fletcher, who flew Visser over from Holland for a trial before securing a place at the famous Barnard Castle rugby nursery.

England Schools honours soon followed for Visser, whose studies included a rather cheeky Dutch A-Level to secure his place at university.

Rugby comes naturally to the Visser family, with his father Marc having been Holland’s most-capped player with over 80 appearances in the back row for his country while at Tim’s previous club RC Hilversum near Amsterdam. Indeed, Tim’s younger brother Sep has also represented Holland at Under-18s level.

A natural at the Sevens game with his athleticism and stepping ability, Tim has claimed a host of trophies in the abbreviated code and continues to make a remarkable impact on the senior 15-a-side game.

 

School/university: Nassau Veluwe (Holland), Barnard Castle, Northumbria University

Previous clubs: RC Hilversum (Holland)

Nicknames: Viss, Timbo

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show, Sexcetera

Favourite film: Friday

Favourite music: Rap, hip-hop, R&B

Favourite book: The Da Vinci Code series

Favourite food: Chicken

Most like to meet: Ron Jeremy

Least like to meet: The Rock when he’s cooking!

Best moment in rugby: Scoring on my first team debut

Best moment outside of rugby: Gaining my A-Level in Dutch at Barnard Castle

Favourite place to visit: Croatia

Team-mate least like to share a room with and why: Eni Gesinde, because he always nags when I walk round the hotel room naked

I love: My mum

I hate: Alcohol