TIM VISSER, the Scotland winger, has hailed the way that youngsters Damien Hoyland and Rory Hughes have adapted to being part of the full Scotland squad during the pre-World Cup camp.
Visser, the 28-year-old who will be heading south from Edinburgh Rugby to Harlequins after the autumn showpiece, is competing for one of the wing spots in Vern Cotter's final 31-man squad with duo Hoyland and Hughes, Tommy Seymour, Sean Maitland, Sean Lamont and Dougie Fife.
And although there are more experienced players ahead of them in the queue, Hoyland and Hughes have done well in the first three weeks in camp, according to Visser.
Hoyland, 21, has started just one match for Edinburgh to date, but has impressed with Scotland under-20 over the last couple of years and the Scotland Sevens team this term.
Twenty-two-year-old Hughes has previously played for Scotland Sevens also and impressed Cotter in a recent bounce match.
"Having them coming into the squad does make me refocus because they are both very good players, they are both ridiculously fit and they are pushing the back three on," Visser stated.
"I think there is some genuine competition for places and it is keeping everyone on their toes.
Of course we were down in the dumps after the Six Nations, but you never can be for too long because everyone goes back to their club teams and tries to refocus.
"Glasgow went on to win the PRO12, we [Edinburgh] got to the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup and Saracens did well - so everyone had to concentrate on club matters and a lot of us have come into this training camp on a bit of a high to be honest.
"Of course in the back of our minds we knew that the Six Nations was disappointing and when we came back together as a group we talked about it, but you have to leave that kind of stuff behind you especially when you are going in to something as special as a World Cup.
"We are now focusing on the physical side of things in training, making sure that we will be one of the fittest sides at the tournament come September and then in the next few weeks we will start playing more rugby."
Meanwhile, Visser believes that Japan will be very tough opponents in the first Pool B match on September 23.
"Japan under their coach Eddie Jones have come on leaps and bounds and they are a completely different team to the one that we have come up against and beaten in the past," Visser said.
"They are quick and dynamic and for the World Cup everyone will be raising their game. After them we take on the USA and although we won over there last year they have a good team and good players and they will be ready for us.
"If you look at world rugby nowadays there is no easy opposition, that is for sure."
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