'Determination, skill and competitive spirit' — Scotland colleagues line up to thank Dan Parks
Scotland colleagues have paid tribute to Dan Parks after the fly-half bowed to the inevitable and called time on his international career.
Dan Parks kicks his famous last-minute winning penalty against Ireland at Croke Park in 2010.
- By Steve Scott, rugby correspondent
- Published in the Courier : 08.02.12
- Published online : 08.02.12 @ 12.31pm
The 67-times capped Parks was set to be dropped from the team to play Wales on Sunday in the second game of the RBS 6 Nations but instead announced his retirement from international rugby with immediate effect.
His final act in a Scotland jersey was to have a clearance kick charged down that led to England's try in the 13-6 Calcutta Cup defeat on Saturday — an error and defeat that made it certain he would be left out of the squad to go to Cardiff this weekend.
Greig Laidlaw, his replacement on Saturday, is the likely starter against Wales with 20-year-old Duncan Weir coming into the squad.
For Parks, it was a sorry end to a chequered eight-year career in a Scotland shirt after he first came from his native Australia in 2004. He had been considering his position since the World Cup in New Zealand in September.
''I had been thinking about retirement but the first game of the Six Nations was against England, the auld enemy, Jacko (Ruaridh Jackson) was injured and being able to play against England was huge for me as there was a sense of unfinished business,'' he said.
''On reflection after the game, after talking it over with my family, girlfriend and close friends I've come to the decision that now is the right time to retire.
''There are some really talented guys coming through — Jacko (Ruaridh Jackson), Greig (Laidlaw) and Duncan (Weir) — and although I'm sad to be finishing my international career I have some fantastic memories of playing for Scotland and what that has meant to me. I've no regrets at what has been an amazing career for me.''
Parks has always divided the Scotland support, many of whom felt he was parachuted into the international set-up by former coach Matt Williams. Nevertheless, he had words of praise for them.
''I want to thank the loyal fans of the Scotland team,'' he said. ''It's been a rocky road for me at times but at the end I've always given 100% to play at my best and succeed for Scotland.''
Parks had his successes in a Scotland jersey, not least the 2010 season when he won a series of man-of-the-match awards and helped Scotland to victories over Ireland, Argentina twice and South Africa.
His personal favourite was the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
He explained: ''That was my first World Cup, something that as a youngster you would always aspire to play in, and it was just such a happy, exciting, positive time. I've made some incredible friends here in Scotland and in the Scotland team and a lot of those friendships were forged in Glasgow.
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11.13am - 09.02.2012 G.Saint - Perth, United Kingdom Report This
Parks plays in the most visible position, where your every action gets seen. A lot of the stick is deserved for lack of creativity in an era where we can't score tries. Credit to him for commitment and a great comeback (6N 2010). Don't buy the line that he was unpopular because he's an Aussie.
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