The Australian-born half-back was criticised in some quarters for the first 20 caps of his Test career.

A protege of unsuccessful previous coach Matt Williams, many expected Parks to fade from the international scene when Frank Hadden, a man with whom he had no previous ties, took the reins last summer.

But Hadden showed faith in the Glasgow man from day one and is now reaping the rewards as Parks has been a revelation in this year's championship.

In the 2005 campaign, Parks was continually picked out as Scotland's weak link defensively - not least by Ireland at Murrayfield - but 12 months on he is the man orchestrating the backs' rearguard action.

His kicking game has also improved immeasurably and has compared favourably in recent weeks with those of illustrious duo Frederic Michalak and Charlie Hodgson in Scotland's two home victories.

In the second of those, a brave 18-12 victory over world champions England on Saturday, Parks added to Chris Paterson's five penalties by dropping a goal at a vital time in the match.

It was the kind of astute decision-making in order to keep the scoreboard ticking over that Lawrence Dallaglio believes England lacked in Edinburgh - leading to the loss of the Calcutta Cup.

Parks, who qualifies for Scotland through a grandfather from Ayrshire, said: ''The drop felt good. I have had a few attempts from time to time and I got that one just about right. I took my time and got the bounce right and it went over - so it was nice.

''It was just one of those spur-of-the-moment things. The game situation dictated that it was the right thing to do.

''We started the second half badly as they got a penalty immediately, but we went straight back up and got a penalty and after that it was obviously very tight, so any points were welcome.

''It's a nice feeling when you see so many happy faces in the crowd. Whenever you win you get a nice response and walking around after the match there were a lot of smiles in the crowd.

''I tried to blank out things when they were not so good and hoped things could get better and better. Sure enough they have and we just want to go on winning games now.

''It was amazing against England. The crowd were behind us from the start and we got on the board early which we were able to build on.

''I was so relieved at the end when we were given a penalty and Chris knocked it over. There was massive relief on the sidelines.''