Dan Parks

Dan Parks

Dan Parks, kicking a penalty for the Glasgow Warriors.
Full name	Daniel Arthur Parks
Nickname	Parksy, Compass, Jiggles
Date of birth	(1978-05-26) 26 May 1978 (age 38)
Place of birth	Hornsby, Australia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	91 kg (14 st 5 lb)
School	Marsden High School
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Fly-half
Amateur clubs Years Club / team       West Harbour RUFC Southern Districts RUFC Eastern Suburbs RUFC
Professional / senior clubs Years Club / team Apps (points) 2001 2003–2010 2010–2012 2012–2014 Leeds Tykes Glasgow Cardiff Blues Connacht 6 107 38 50 (51) (1105) (347) (365) Correct as of 10 May 2014
National team(s) Years Club / team Apps (points) 2004–2012 Scotland 66 (266) Correct as of 3 September 2015
Coaching career Years Club / team     2015 2016 2016 Sydney Stars (Asst. Coach) West Harbour (Asst. Coach) Samoa (Skills Coach)

Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978 in Hornsby) is an Australian-born former rugby union player who last played professionally for Irish Pro12 side Connacht Rugby. His primary position is at fly-half. Parks is a former international having played for Scotland from 2004 to 2012. Parks is also the record holder for points scored in the Pro12 with a total of 1,582 points for Connacht, Cardiff Blues and Glasgow Warriors. Parks announced his retirement from rugby on 25 June 2014.

Parks was brought up in Sydney, and early on he played rugby for West Harbour RUFC, Southern Districts RUFC and Eastern Suburbs RUFC. This brought about the nickname 'compass' Parks also represented New South Wales at Under-21 level. During his playing days in the Sydney rugby union competition, Parks broke a long-standing point scoring record for the third fifteen's highest scoring replacement in a friendly game.

After moving to the United Kingdom in September 2001 to pursue his professional rugby career, Parks spent some time at Leeds Tykes. Parks scored 51 points for the Tykes in his six games for the side before leaving for Eastern Suburbs.

In 2003 Parks returned to the United Kingdom, this time going to Scotland. He joined Glasgow Warriors, a professional team in the recently established Celtic League. After making his debut as a replacement in the Celtic Cup victory over Celtic Warriors at Bridgend in September 2003, Parks was quick to establish himself as the club's first choice fly-half, a position he held in all seven seasons that he played for the side and testament to his game-winning prowess. Parks was top points scorer for his club in every season he played for Glasgow from the 2003–04 to the 2009–10 season, scoring tries, conversions, penalties and drop goals.