Cardiff Blues have today confirmed that they have signed Scottish international outside half Dan Parks from Magners League leaders Glasgow Warriors.
Parks was born in 1978 in Hornsby, New South Wales where he grew up playing for the Eastern Suburbs RUFC, West Harbour RUFC, and Southern Districts RUFC. He also represented New South Wales at under-21 level. In September 2001 Dan moved to the UK and joined Leeds Tykes before joining Glasgow Warriors in 2003.
Parks has been a central figure for the Warriors and his ever-reliable boot has seen him finish as top scorer in each of his six years at the club. The 20 points he added in the victory over Edinburgh in the 1872 Cup derby match in December 2009, meant he became the first player in Magners League history to reach 1,000 points. The vast majority of those points – 911 – came from the boot – 121 conversions, 208 penalty goals and 15 drop goals, with the balance made up by 18 tries.
Dan qualified to play for Scotland via his maternal grandmother who was born in Ayrshire, and made his Scotland debut in February 2004 against Wales.
Speaking of the signing, Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby, David Young said,
“We are obviously aware of Dan’s qualities as an Outsidehalf from numerous encounters with Glasgow over the years.”
“He is a quality player who has often been the difference between the two teams and a real thorn in our side on a number of occasions.”
“His organisational skills and game understanding makes him a real general on the pitch and he has excellent communication skills.”
“Dan’s record as a goal kicker speaks for itself, but his distribution skills are also well recognized as he gets his back lines moving.”
“He will certainly further strengthen our options at Outsidehalf going forward next season and will bring the best out of our backs.”
Dan Parks said, “I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead with Cardiff Blues.”
“They have a strong squad with a lot of class and international experience and they have some fantastic facilities.”
“I’m not moving club simply for a change, but to win trophies and I feel the Blues are capable of that.”
