Parks - a Life.

Jim White’s piece in today’s Times on Dan Parks is interesting in that it is a rarity to see anyone defending the Aussie born fly half. Rare outside fellow players, that is. Former colleagues within the Scotland set up, as well as Blues and Glasgow team mates, have always valued his ability to kick the corners and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Dai Young bought him to Cardiff for exactly these reasons – the Blues’ tendency to dominate games that they went on to lose, particularly in the Magners, was a real area of concern. Frustratingly, the acquisition of Parks has not solved this problem.


But there have always been doubts about the adopted Scot's ability to get a backline running – the same sort of doubts that have afflicted Jonny Wilkinson, in fact. Folk prefer their fly halves to be more Dandy Dan than the Desperate Dan we saw last weekend at Murrayfield. The pundits’ choice of top World Cup 10’s would have been the other Dan (before he was crocked) and Rhys Priestland – both primarily running, passing fly halves that would keep a defensive coach on the edge of his seat. The latter does share Park’s tendency to kick low – great in windy conditions, but convenient for the opposition charge down merchants. So Priestland keeps fans on the edge of seats for the wrong reasons, too.

So how will Scotland fare in life after Parks ? To ask Laidlaw to step into the position after such a brief spell in the 10 jersey is either testament to Robinson’s faith in the young man’s ability, or simply an admission that the cupboard is pretty bare. He looked lively against England, however, and came within a haggis skin of scoring. I suspect, however, that it is the absence of tighthead Murray that will cost Scotland dear. Although his replacement Geoff Cross is a handful in the loose, he doesn’t have Murray’s ability to dominate at scrumtime, and the Welsh backline will be difficult to subdue off the back of stable scrum ball. In historical terms, expect a whiff of Bannockburn for a period, then the closing stages of Flodden.