Dan Parks is done

www.connachtrugby.ie/2012022882774/legen...s-signs-for-connacht

Think we have to thank Billy for this one

Connacht Rugby are delighted to confirm the signing of former Scottish international outhalf Dan Parks.

Parks will join Connacht from the Cardiff Blues at the end of the current season on a two year deal which will see the legendary Scottish outhalf ply his trade at the Sportsground until at least the end of the 2013/14 season.

Dan is the RaboDirect’s all-time leading point’s scorer with a phenomenal 1322 points to his name. In his seven seasons with Glasgow and two with Cardiff Blues he has scored an impressive 19 tries and kicked 274 penalties to leave his haul of points a staggering 473 points ahead of nearest rival Ronan O’Gara. As a prolific goal kicker he has a kicking record of 73.4% which puts his accuracy ahead of kicking sensations such as Stephen Jones, Ruan Pienaar and Leigh Halfpenny.

The pivotal position was an area Connacht identified for strengthening and the 33 year old, New South Wales born outhalf will be charged with bringing through Connacht’s emerging talent whilst helping to turn some of Connacht’s narrow losses into significant victories.

The experienced outhalf, who was the first to reach the 1000 points milestone in the Magners League, comes with serious international pedigree. He has amassed 67 caps for Scotland since his international debut in 2004, the most recent being against England in this year’s RBS 6Nations Championship. It is this knowledge and expertise that Connacht will look to harness and Dan’s considerable experience looks set to compliment the exciting, youthful backline that Head Coach Eric Elwood and Backs Coach Billy Millard already have in place.

Millard spent two seasons with the Cardiff Blues as Backs Coach and he was key to enticing the outhalf to Connacht.

Speaking about the signing Billy Millard said:

“I’m excited about working with Dan, especially in the setup we have here at the moment. He’s an absolute professional and I think he will bring an extra layer of experience to the squad. We spoke at length about the ambitions of Connacht Rugby, Dan knew the culture of the club and respected what we’re trying to do here and this was one of the main reasons he agreed to come to Connacht. He is a great guy, a leader and will add value on and off the field”

Looking forward to the move Dan added:

“It’s been a huge decision in my life to move away from Cardiff to Connacht but a move which I am thrilled about. There is a fantastic mix of youth and experience at the club and for me I am really excited about the future of Connacht rugby. With my nine years of playing in the league I will be looking to bring that experience to Galway. I am looking forward to the next two seasons and the great challenges that will come with it. The four coaches Eric, Dan, Billy and Mike have lots of energy and are very determined to make Connacht rugby a fun and successful club. I am very happy to be joining a club which I believe is on the up and has a very bright future ahead.”

Head Coach Eric Elwood was delighted with the signing:

“Having Dan Parks come on board next season is a huge boost to the club. Having someone of his experience, both internationally with the number of caps he has and in the league as the highest points scorer of all-time, is a massive bonus. As a seasoned international we are confident he will bring a huge amount of experience to our team. He knows what we’re about, what we’re trying to do and his attitude and work ethic will add to the culture of the club. We are all looking forward to working with him and bringing through the next generation of Connacht players”

Id say we will be saying goodbye to the AMAZING legend that is Ray Ofisa along with Rodney Ah You and Henry. Nikora will become IQ and White will move into the development slot.
Thats my take on it not saying that its right.

if this is official now its great news.

It begs the question though about the niqs in squad. If im correct we are allowed 5 niq and 1 project per season. Parks?,white,rodgers, reynecke, naupu, henry, ray, fetu and rodney as project. with parks and white coming in does that mean we have to lose 3 of the others or have the rules changed under our new agreement with irfu? i havent included nikora as someone said here that he was iq next season but if he isnt thats 4. Can anyone clarify the position here?

Parks will reward the forward effort with points on the scoreboard which was so often lacking for all their effort this season. As ummmm already pointed out he will also play the game in our opponents half which can only be good for what is a potentially excellent pack.
As for getting the backline moving he will be no worse than Noc in this regard and we must remember that for all the potential that we have in the backs we have continually made handling errors and given penos away for holding on in games when trying to play the expansive game. Noc wasnt responsible for this and neither will parks be but under his guidnace they should happen in the opposition half and not in scoring zone.
By my reckoning if we had a goalkicker of Parks ability playing this season we would have 10/12 pts more on the board and would be in a position to directly challenge ulster for that 3rd hec spot with a home game against them to come.Thats how much his presence could potentially improve us.

Layden and TOH. Jarvis is another option

Nobody else needed

Layden???? Toh?

If he is then we've been remiss in trying him out and giving Gav time off. We've given the lads very few breaks this year.

ummm, wrote: I think we need another FB. We have plenty of wings that can play FB if needed, and Jarvis too, but we don't have any out-and-out FBs other than Gav. We've been very lucky he's been injury free all year.

Given his ability in the air and mazy running lines, I'd have thought TOH was the obvious longterm successor to Gav? Maybe bringing in another FB would hinder his development?

Darcy while he has been a great player for Ireland his international position isnt looking good . He could finish with Ireland and still have two more years with Leinster.
Bod from what I hear is on the mend and lifting bigger weights than he has for years and he cant wait too play again.
Shaggy is supposed to be shagged with his knee.
McFadden O'Malley are two very good options for centre longterm while Macken has looked ok imho he will be ok after a missing a good bit with injury.
They also have Eamon Sheridan (Joe's brother from meath gaa)whose a big lump of a lad that plays 12.
At a push Isa has enough football too play centre or O'shea whose been getting time lately and has a dev contract for next year.
I dont think they need too make a signing but sure Joe knows best.

I think we need another FB. We have plenty of wings that can play FB if needed, and Jarvis too, but we don't have any out-and-out FBs other than Gav. We've been very lucky he's been injury free all year.

Goneva is equally adept in the centre, which is where I'd imagine he'd be been signed for. Da'rcy's decline has been well flagged, Drico has shag all left in the tank which leaves the cupboard pretty thin. O'Malley and McFadden would be the next 2 established centres, outside that not a whole lot else, not particularly impressed with Macken. Goneva would offer a different option, big strong carrier who could punch holes.

Carr is up in the air I'd say. TBH, even if he leaves Leinster, I can't see him coming back. In the world of inflated egos and all that, Carr coming back would almost seem like admitting defeat on his part. I could see him end up in the Eng Prem. Would love to get him back though. Duffy, TOH, Carr, Vainikolo (who's really improving), Layden as options in the back 3 would be terrific

With the talent available in the back three I can't see why Leinster would use up a valuable NIE spot on the wing. Sounds very strange.

Allegedly Leinster are trying to sign Vereniki Goneva a fijian winger which means that Carr might be on the way out. I for one would love to have him back. With him on one wing and O'Halloran on the other we'd have one hell of an attacking force.

I've kept away from the Parks debate until there was a definite announcement. We were all burned by the Benson Stanley saga last year.

Overall I think it's a positive, but not without some points to debate.

Our kicking percentage failings are well documented at this stage and that alone means we have upgraded the position. We are not getting an out half known for getting his outside backs moving, though, and our young talent could suffer as a result. If we're not scoring tries there will be no conversions to be missed!

Having said that, we play a fairly kick-reliant game already. Someone who can pin a team back allowing us to play them in their half will be a good thing.

Defensively he's not the best, but not the worst either. We have the 6th best "Points Against" this year, ahead of Ulster and Cardiff. This is a major strength and will need to be maintained next year. If we suddenly start having problems with teams targetting our 10 channel this will not be good.

Overall though I see this as a positive. It's a sign of intent. We have a man on our books who only a few weeks ago was considered good enough for international duty. You can debate the rights and wrongs of that selection all you like, but the fact remains. This is an upgrade. Maybe not the big upgrade people wanted, but it's a strong step in the right direction. We were never going to land Dan Carter, now were we?

From the Indo, by John Fallon,

CONNACHT have made a sensational swoop for Celtic League record points-scorer Dan Parks.

The former Scotland out-half will complete his move to the Sportsground on a two-year deal this week as coach Eric Elwood strengthens his squad for next season.

Australian-born Parks (33), who has amassed 1,322 points in nine seasons in the Celtic League with Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Blues, retired from Test rugby following Scotland's Six Nations loss to England, having won 67 caps for his adopted country.

The only other Scottish international to play for Connacht was No 8 Eric Peters, who moved there 10 years ago.

Parks briefly played for Leeds Tykes in the English Premiership before moving to Glasgow; he has notched 537 points in 10 seasons of Heineken Cup rugby.

The 33-year-old, who has spent the past two seasons with Cardiff, is the second major signing for Connacht in the past week, with Kiwi prop Nathan White joining from Leinster for three years from the summer.

Meanwhile, one of the players Parks will be competing with for the No 10 shirt next season, Niall O'Connor, has been ruled out of Friday's trip to the Scarlets, suffering a hairline fracture after a knock to the head in the 26-13 win over Edinburgh at the weekend.

"He has had a scan and we will be keeping a close eye on him during the week but he is out of Friday's game and we will just need to assess him from there," said Elwood.

Brett Wilkinson and Mike McCarthy also look set to miss the trip to Llanelli after being called in to train with the Irish squad this week.

Prop Ronan Loughney will also train with the Irish squad today but is expected to be available to play for Connacht on Friday.

- John Fallon

I think Jarvis coming on to close out the game the other night must have given him a huge confidence boost.He could learn a whole lot from Parks in the kicking department.

NOC still as 6 games to prove Parks shouldn't expect to walk in and be handed the 10 jersey straight off. He has started to show improvement, but he's about 3 months behind schedule as far as I'm concerned. If he helps the team to win 4 of their last 6 games I think he will have earned the right to challenge Parks for the starting spot. Ideally, Parks would play ROG to NOC's Sexton, coming on with 10-15 minutes left to close out games or when a dg could decide things. The Edinburgh game was a good example for me. Was very nervous to hear Jarvis was coming on given his kicking record and the game so close. It ended up working out well with him landing his two kicks, but the nerves would have been a lot steadier had it been Parks coming off the bench.