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March 11, 2005

Williams defends stand-off decision

Posted by Editor on March 11, 2005 04:00 PM | 12 comments | Print | E-mail author
Scotland coach Matt Williams backed his decision to retain Glasgow's Dan Parks as stand-off in place of on-form Gordon Ross for Sunday's Six Nations Championship match against Wales at Murrayfield.

Australian-born Dan, who qualifies for Scotland through his Ayrshire-born maternal grandfather, has struggled to win over the critics during his 14 caps under Williams and even came in for flak from the fans during the Scots' long-awaited victory over Italy a fortnight ago.

The clamour to bring back the Leeds Tykes player grows by the game but at a tense press conference in Stirling Williams insisted the debate between the two players was purely media invention.

He said: "I think this is simply a media story which is mounting pressure on Gordon and Dan and it's creating a problem which is simply not there.

"We're making a judgement based on what we're seeing in training and in international games which are different than at pro-team level. There are different demands and different pressures.

"There's not a lot between the two players. Gordon has played some for very good rugby for Leeds and when he gets his opportunity he has to take it.

"But obviously we are saying Dan has a wide enough all-round game to merit playing for Scotland.

"Dan made the only line break of the game against Italy. We moved 35 metres, got a penalty then kicked three points.

"But in international rugby, your number 10s don't make too many line breaks, maybe just one or two.

"I had a chat with Gordon and I felt sorry for him. I think we should just allow the young man to play and when his opportunity comes, allow him to take it."

Comments
Posted by Envy on March 11, 2005 05:03 PM | Reply to this comment

Hold on 10's don't make line breaks? What planet is he smoking in? Spencer, Wilkinson, Larkham, Jones and Carter all make breaks. I'm begining to be suspicous of MW.

Glad to see he had the heart to tell Ross he wasn't in. Think he should just walk away from Scotland now and concentrate on keeping Leeds up. I wouldn't blame him...

Posted by hugues on March 11, 2005 05:42 PM | Reply to this comment

I agree "line breaks"!!!!
i'll add Michalak and even Delaigue...
I don't have anything against Dan, and i think he is very proud and brave to play for Scotland.
But a number 10 is not just on the pitch for kicking now days

Posted by McDruid on March 11, 2005 09:43 PM | Reply to this comment

More to the point with Wales coming North this week-end, did any one see the 60-metre break by Stephen Jones against France, directly before the first Welsh try?

And another question that I have not had an answer to, despite asking it ad nauseam - what was the name of Parks's reported maternal grandfather from Ayrshire? Banquo?

Posted by jimc on March 12, 2005 12:35 PM | Reply to this comment

from the SRU site - "He qualifies for Scotland through his maternal grandfather, who was born in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire."
Also on this site, look for the article on DP dated feb 2004. Not hard to research if you really want the answer.

Posted by Phall on March 12, 2005 01:07 PM | Reply to this comment

The point which is being made is that the maternal granfather is never actually named. Therefore it is difficult to contact the Regstrars office to see a copy of the birth records. I wasn't too bothered by this at first but the way it is trailed is increasingly suspicious.

Posted by jimc on March 12, 2005 01:41 PM | Reply to this comment

sorry Phall, but I don't see it as suspicious unless you see a conspiracy theory round every corner. There are those who want to of course.

Posted by Gordon on March 12, 2005 07:54 PM | Reply to this comment

Just checked the squad profiles on the official SRU site. Of the 7 guys I can see who have a "grandparent" qualification, only one grandparent is named - Robbie Russell's grandfather. Maybe we should double check them all?

Posted by McDruid on March 14, 2005 12:56 AM | Reply to this comment

Do you want a bet now that Matt Williams will allow Dan Parks to sink without trace? From hero to zero. Matt's brilliant tactical switch - Ross for Parks at half-time - enabled Scotland to "win" the second half! Don't you see that it is all part of the Matt Williams master plan? He discarded one Aussie pal and brought on another, Hines. He's a b*ll-sh*tt*ng Australian drop-out and it's time he was dumped!

Posted by hugh on March 14, 2005 08:59 PM | Reply to this comment

Has anyone you checked Parks at the Registery office in Kilbirnie
Just like Stornaway but it burnt down just before checks could be made on all these kilted Kiwis

Posted by McDruid on March 14, 2005 09:39 PM | Reply to this comment

Always strikes me as suspicious that the qualification is invariably a MATERNAL grandparent. So, of course, the surname will inevitably be different from that of the cap-hunting player. But I am old and cynical, perhaps because I have been listening to the SRU's terminological inexactitudes for some considerable time now!

Posted by McDruid on March 14, 2005 09:40 PM | Reply to this comment

Always strikes me as suspicious that the qualification is invariably a MATERNAL grandparent. So, of course, the surname will inevitably be different from that of the cap-hunting player. But I am old and cynical, perhaps because I have been listening to the SRU's terminological inexactitudes for some considerable time now!

Posted by hugh on March 16, 2005 07:33 PM | Reply to this comment

Isle of Man and the Channel Islands is your passport

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