Tuesday 7th February. A meeting in the week that Scotland take on Wales in the RBS 6 Nations. So far, so normal. Sure, we've just been beaten by England by a score, but most players will have been shocked by the emotional tearful announcement from Daniel Arthur Parks that he was to retire with immediate effect.
With best wishes to the team, he was gone to the stands whilst the team trained, photos made their way to newspaper websites shortly afterwards, and the twittersphere & blogs were filled with the usual mixture of the positive comments, the negative abuse, and the downright naive or ignorant. Standard fare really for someone deemed the most 'marmite' (shouldn't that be 'vegemite' tweeted one wag) player of modern times: love him or hate him, he was frequetly discussed in pubs & water coolers.
Scottish Rugby Press Release & Andy Nicol comment on retirement on BBC
He was first selected in 2004 by another maligned Australian, Matt Williams, initially as a substitute for three games before forcing his way into the team to finish up the 2004 championship against Ireland where he typically nailed a drop goal-the first of his 17 that constitute a Scottish record. He remains the Celtic League's highest points scorer of all time, and states that he will continue playing for his club.
However players & management reflected on the memorable moments of his career which, whilst containing some 'rocky times' had some fabulous highlights, especially at the 2007 World Cup in France when he was voted Scotland's Most Valuable Player by the players themselves, and the year 2010, either on the Argentina tour or collecting 3 man of the match performances in four 6 Nations games that year, ultimately followed up by a terrific victory over South Africa.
A top bloke off the field with infectious laughter, enthusiasm & no little skill on the table tennis table, he will be sorely missed as a sports' nut with particular interest in rugby league (his Australian imitation of NRL commentary during the recent World Cup was spectacular) & NFL (we discussed the recent season of College American Football as well as the well-hyped Super Bowl just last week).
Look at how good a sport he was here in this classic piece of April Fool's tomfoollery with the BBC: Scotland punished for laser cheat.
With the recent passing from Scotland colours of Nathan Hines & Chris Paterson (Chris Paterson retires) Scotland has lost much experience on the pitch, and much character off the field.
I personally will miss all three.
Scottish Rugby Press Release & Andy Nicol comment on retirement on BBC
He was first selected in 2004 by another maligned Australian, Matt Williams, initially as a substitute for three games before forcing his way into the team to finish up the 2004 championship against Ireland where he typically nailed a drop goal-the first of his 17 that constitute a Scottish record. He remains the Celtic League's highest points scorer of all time, and states that he will continue playing for his club. |
| Dan Parks & Chris Cusiter celebrate in Dublin, 2010 |
A top bloke off the field with infectious laughter, enthusiasm & no little skill on the table tennis table, he will be sorely missed as a sports' nut with particular interest in rugby league (his Australian imitation of NRL commentary during the recent World Cup was spectacular) & NFL (we discussed the recent season of College American Football as well as the well-hyped Super Bowl just last week).
Look at how good a sport he was here in this classic piece of April Fool's tomfoollery with the BBC: Scotland punished for laser cheat.
With the recent passing from Scotland colours of Nathan Hines & Chris Paterson (Chris Paterson retires) Scotland has lost much experience on the pitch, and much character off the field.
I personally will miss all three.
The Scottish public are a negative entity & only ever focus on, and remember, the missed kicks, intercepted passes, knock-ons etc. It's so frustrating when all the amazing aspects of a player's game are conveniently forgotten. There are comments all over Facebook that basically equate to cyber-bullying (& a lot of them from rugby "friends" who have never made a gaff on the rugby pitch in their lives....not). If only the public knew what went on behind the scenes "in camp". Team selection is a tough process, with players' performances scrutinised by video-analysis, & lengthy debates in management meetings...any player selected for a starting XV truly deserves their place. I hope Dan will be remembered for his positive contributions to Scottish Rugby & wish him all the best for his future.
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