He was not talking about the warmth of the reception he received on taking to the pitch at Murrayfield or about the rarity of being involved in a drawn Test match, but about the previous evening when he was presented with the shirt in which he would win his 50th cap by Thom Evans.
Parks’ Glasgow Warriors and Scotland team-mate suffered a life threatening neck injury during Scotland’s defeat by Wales in Cardiff last month but made a special visit to the team hotel on Friday evening. “He came and met the guys at the team hotel. It was a very touching moment,” said Parks.
“He’s a great guy Thommy and I miss playing with him. It was a great occasion, very emotional. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
“It was great to see him and to see him walking around. It was a very emotionally driven evening for me. Personally I felt very privileged.
“Thom spoke highly of me and of the friendship we have. That was basically it for me. It was very touching. Something I’ll never forget.”
Yet perhaps the most remarkable thing of all this weekend is that Parks was, for the third successive match, reflecting on personal highlights rather than collective ones after Scotland once again failed to win a match they dominated for long periods. The impact he has made in winning two man of the match awards in defeat by Wales and Italy, was shown in the reception he received as he took the field at the stadium where he was booed the last time he played there for Scotland.
Parks admitted he had been unsure of whether he wanted to maintain the tradition of leading the team out, but in the event it seemed that skipper Chris Cusiter held the rest back fractionally longer than usual once he realised just how the crowd had reacted to his half-back partner’s emergence. This time Parks twice came within the width of a post of being the hero as the only penalty attempts he missed while contributing all 15 of Scotland’s points both rebounded off posts.
“Obviously it has been well documented the last time I was here for Scotland was a disappointing time, but it was certainly a happy one today,” he said. “Going out I felt really good. It made me feel really good.
“It’s a privilege to play for Scotland and the crowd were great all game. It’s just a shame we couldn’t repay them, but a draw is better than a loss.”
Nor was Parks the only member of the home camp who underwent a very different experience on Saturday since Andy Robinson, Scotland’s head coach, had prepared a team to face his native England for the first time.
Afterwards there was clear mutual respect in his exchanges with those he had previously coached and while frustrated that his side had not claimed the victory he felt they deserved he praised both teams. “They’re the warriors, they put their bodies on the line. I have huge respect for both sides for the way they tried to play the game,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends who I’ve coached that have played rugby for England and that was the right time to speak to them one to one.”
