Jim Hamilton: Dan Parks had career highlights some can only dream about

IT WOULD be understandable if Scottish supporters are travelling to Wales this weekend not quite bubbling with the same excitement with which we all headed into the Calcutta Cup match.

But, I can assure you that it has not changed inside the Scotland camp. Of course, there is a disappointment nagging away in the gut that wasn’t there this time last week, but as a player you use disappointments as fuel to get better.

What also fuels excitement is knowing where we are playing tomorrow. Only a few boys have not played in the Millennium Stadium but they know the reputation it has. For most of us it is second only to Murrayfield in the world’s best places to play.

It might seem intimidating, but I find the opposite is true. I just love the atmosphere inside there with a full house and if the roof is closed, as we want it to be, it is even better.

This is going to be an exciting game. A lot of people will be doubting us – understandably after the Calcutta Cup last week – but the belief hasn’t gone after that result. We know we let everyone down and we know it’s in our hands to turn it around and lift the Scottish nation again. It is never easy, but we have a strong squad and great young players coming through. I was delighted to see Dave Denton do so well last week. He is a young man playing an integral part of the team, and there was a lot of pressure on him to provide the go-forward for us, but what a first start he had in international rugby. Now, he has to learn and do it consistently, and I back him to do that. He has a presence on the field and a carrying ability that we have been lacking.

I’m now getting called ‘slim Jim’ after my column last week, but I was pleased with how I started against England, which was important to me, and with how the lineout went against one of the best lineouts in the championship. We talk about moments of ‘badness’ costing us, and five minutes of badness at the start of the second half was where we lost it against England. The charge-down was poor, and then we kicked off and England got a maul going to the halfway line. Richie Gray’s break was excellent but we never got anything off that, and then seeing Ross Rennie going through with Mike [Blair] on his shoulder, and it come to nothing, was painful. If we’d got that we would have won the game. If, if…

There has been a lot of talk this week about us not being good enough to finish chances, and the evidence supports that, but we believe strongly that we are good enough if we play the way we are capable. And it is mental. If you had said to me before the World Cup that it was all in the head, I would have said you were talking nonsense, but I believe now that our lack of tries is a mental thing.

There is little difference between our players and those in the rest of the championship, but others are finishing. Why? It’s confidence, from seeing a team-mate score and drawing belief from that. Wales have been flying and scoring tries, so they don’t think about it, but know they will come. We wonder if they will or not. You look at Fernando Torres in football, a world-class striker currently on a drought, or Wayne Rooney last season who couldn’t score, and then he knocks one in and the goals keep coming. I genuinely believe that if we score even one try tomorrow we will grow and score more as the games go on. We just need that first one.

There have been a lot of tributes to Dan Parks this week and while we have moved on from his emotional retiral on Monday, I want to take a moment to pay tribute to him. He has had a rough ride at times, and taken more of the blame on his shoulders than was right for one player in a team game, yet on his day he has been unbelievable for Scotland. My fondest memory will be that kick he took in the 79th minute in Croke Park where he bisected the posts in a howling wind, which allowed us all to celebrate being winners in Ireland. Argentina, South Africa, England … you have highlights some people can only dream about, Parksy, and I wish you well.

But his retiral also opens the door for the next generation and we’re excited about the talent coming through. Greig Laidlaw has made a big switch but he has been a stand-out for Edinburgh this season, and Duncan Weir is a talented lad, as is Stuart Hogg, and the squad were delighted with the ‘A’ team’s win and to see those guys and big Ed Kalman rewarded with call-ups.

Now the focus is on stepping up tomorrow; being clinical and ruthless. Every time we attack their half and especially 22 we must leave with points. I have also told our half-backs that I’m happy for them to kick to touch because we will put pressure on the Welsh lineout. I don’t care if we win 6-3, but we have to win.