Dan Parks

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Daniel Arthur Parks (born May 26, 1978 in Hornsby, New South Wales) is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He plays professional rugby for Glasgow Warriors and represents Scotland at fly-half.

Dan Parks was brought up in Sydney, Australia and played rugby for the Eastern Suburbs RUFC, West Harbour RFC, Northern Suburbs and Southern Districts, earning him the nickname, Compass. He also represented Australia at under-21 level.

After moving to the UK to pursue his professional rugby career, Dan joined Glasgow from Leeds Tykes in 2003 and has been an important and popular member of the squad ever since. Dan qualified to play for Scotland via his maternal grandfather who was born in Ayrshire. He made his Scotland debut in 2004 against Wales.

Despite being the first choice No.10 for Scottish national coach Matt Williams and his successor Frank Hadden, he has had a difficult time winning over the Scottish media and sections of the Scottish support while playing in a team which has enjoyed little success in the past few years. However, he is proving to be a solid player whose accurate kicking from hand and ability to spot gaps in the opposition's defence is slowly winning over his detractors.

Parks played in all three 2005 Autumn tests, particularly impressing against the all-conquering New Zealand in the final match of the series at Murrayfield. His positive attitude and commitment has won praise from Hadden and his fortunes seem to be following those of the Scottish team who are enjoying more success in 2005-2006.

Stats:

Glasgow Warriors (2003-2006) Tries---9, Conversions---77, Penalty kicks---98, Drop Goals---6

Scotland (19 caps 2004-6) Tries---3, Conversions---9, Penalty Kicks---9, Drop Goals---2