Parks faces a real battle to reclaim the Scottish No.10 jersey in time for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations after being forced to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of the World Cup.

Glasgow’s Ruaridh Jackson was given the nod to run the show for Andy Robinson’s men in New Zealand and with young tyros like Harry Leonard and Duncan Weir also putting their hand up for the fly-half role Parks certainly needs to impress.

But with three wins from three in Europe, and five wins from their last six in all competitions Burnell is adamant that Parks’ contributions have proved vital to the Blues’ success, especially his 20-point haul against Leonard’s Edinburgh last time out.

“At the end of the day it’s the old Neil Jenkins scenario of three, six, nine, 12, 15,” Burnell told the Wales on Sunday.

“Dan keeps the scoreboard ticking over and he keeps us moving forward.

“People are quick to say he kicks a lot of ball away but they lose sight of the fact that he keeps us going forward.

“Every time Edinburgh were penalised in their own half Dan was stepping up and kicking points. With every side, when you are conscious of that it can be unsettling.”

And while some have criticised Parks for an apparent lack of flair with ball in hand Burnell has called on the doubters to check the try counts if they want proof of his playmaking abilities.

“Up until the Leinster game last weekend (which the Blues lost 52-9) I think we were the side who had scored the most tries in the Pro12,” he added.

“We are scoring tries this year when we didn’t last year and I don’t think it is an element for concern.

“We have four or five bonus points this season already for scoring maximum tries, so that really speaks for itself.”