After a soul-crushing end to the RBS Six Nations Championship with Scotland, where his form dropped and Frank Hadden's choices at stand-off became the major talking point swirling above his head, Parks has recovered his composure with back-to-back ma
n-of-the-match displays for Glasgow.
Clearly stung by the criticism during the championship, he refused to engage with the media after those performances, but yesterday the Glasgow skipper fronted up at the announcement of the team for their final home match against Llanelli tonight.
After emerging from the Rugby World Cup with "world-class" praise from his coach and the "player of the tournament" accolade from his team-mates, his own form unquestionably dipped from the turn of the year in tandem with the Scotland team's as a whole.
Yet, Parks has also suffered from the tactical failures and the inability of coaches in Scotland to establish whether or not Chris Paterson offered an alternative at stand-off over the past decade. When Parks was on form, as in the World Cup, it was less of an issue, but when his weaknesses were exposed or he simply did not play to his optimum, inevitable some would say for Scotland stand-offs in the white-hot atmosphere of Test rugby, the Paterson conundrum re-ignited debates across the country and beyond.
Rather than walk away with the memories and 42 Test caps, however, the soon-to-be-30-year-old is showing strong mental toughness and ability in reminding us all that he is the best current stand-off available to Scotland. Conversions, penalties, tries and drop-goals from Parks claimed all of Glasgow's points in last week's win over Edinburgh, but it was the new desire to threaten more with ball-in-hand that lifted eyelids.
Parks is the current top points scorer in the Magners League this season but knows that he needs to show himself to be more rounded than a mere kicking fly-half to earn international respect, and also because the limitations of the Scottish squad invariably turn the spotlight on the No 10's ability to both bring players into the game around him with ball-in-hand and threaten himself. But the Sydney-born player is a more committed individual than some give him credit for and insisted yesterday he was up for that challenge.
He said: "It's something I've always liked to do, but for one reason or another I've not been doing that. That's been a criticism I've had of myself and I've got to take it on myself to do it. Sean (Lineen] has had a chat with me and said to start doing this and it's been great for me. Once you get into a tackle and get hit you feel you're into the game and feel part of it, and for me that's been a big thing. I guess sometimes if you don't get that early hit you can let the game go in a way.
"When I first came over here attacking the line was something I liked to do and in a way it was, if not taken away, then shown it was more of a benefit to use the guys outside me. Taking the line on is something I've always wanted to do and Sean has given me that role in the last couple of weeks and I've loved it. I don't feel I reached the level I should be at times with Scotland, but I am always trying.
"I always go out there to be the best player I can. Sometimes you can go out and put everything into it and things go your way and you look like the hero; sometimes you put everything into it and the ball goes out, or you throw a forward pass, but because you're trying too hard and not because you're trying to play poorly. But I love playing at Glasgow so it was quite easy to come back.
"All the guys were fantastic in welcoming me back and it's been great to get back into the club scene. It's a job, like anything; you can't be fantastic every single week. You try to be as good as you can, but sometimes things don't go your way."
Sean Lineen, the Glasgow coach, reiterated what he has said before, that he felt he had over-played Parks when he returned from the World Cup, partly because Colin Gregor, his fly-half alternative, had started the season poorly. He also pinpointed the plethora of mistakes backs outside Parks have made on occasions.
Intriguingly, the last time Glasgow beat a full-strength Llanelli at Firhill they started with Gregor at scrum-half and Parks at ten, which is the choice again this week, Lineen explaining that Gregor's quicker pass kept him in ahead of Sam Pinder. Daryl Gibson has returned, but with increased pressure to find his form, alongside Graeme Morrison.
Glasgow may not have had title talk echoing in their dressing-room for some time, but a win tonight, along with a Leinster victory at Edinburgh, would propel them up to fourth in the Magners League table, ensuring the spotlight remained on Glasgow's West End.
Parks added: "The guys put a lot of hard work into the game against Edinburgh last week – we want to finish strongly. We finished well last season and it makes the off-season that bit more enjoyable, so we want to do that again."
The full article contains 951 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
