Australia v Scotland: Scotland's Sydney-born outhalf Dan Parks yesterday had his international credentials questioned as Australia coach Eddie Jones stoked the boilers ahead of tomorrow's Test in Melbourne
Jones, a master at pre-test psychology, said he had rejected the chance to sign Parks for the ACT Brumbies and expressed surprise that the 26-year-old was deemed the best outhalf in Scotland.
"We would have thought they would pick Gordon Ross, who we thought played very well against Samoa," said Jones.
"I'm not sure (why they picked Parks). We have done all our homework on Ross. We thought he was outstanding against Samoa. He took the ball to the line, kicked well and generally played very well. We were taken aback by Parks's selection."
Parks insisted that, despite Jones's digs, he will not head out into the Telstra Dome with a point to prove to the Australians.
But the criticism will test his ability to remain confident and infuse that self-belief into the Scotland back division.
"Playing Australia will be the biggest occasion of my life - it's very exciting," he said.
"It would be very good to do well against my homeland but any time I play for Scotland I want to do well. It's the biggest day of my life personally."
The decision to include Parks was based on the need for accurate, tactical kicking and indicates Scotland intend to play the game tight, based around set pieces and field position, something not lost on Jones.
Always a man for statistics, Jones knows Scotland kicked the ball 37 times in their Six Nations loss to England and has devised a plan to combat it. Radike Samo has been included in the pack as a third lineout jumper to counter Scott Murray and Stuart Grimes.
For those kicks that do not find touch, Scotland will have to brace themselves for a radical new Wallabies approach.
Joe Roff, Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor will interchange at full back, providing a fluid back three aimed at placing pressure on Scotland's defensive kicking.
That has emphasised the need for Parks to shrug off the digs and find touch because the set-piece battle will be key for Scotland.
Parks replaced the referee as Jones's usual pre-Test focus, though there was still time for Paul Honiss to be given a shrewd reminder of how to police the lineout.
"It's going to be a really good test for the new law in the lineout," said Jones. "The IRB have hopefully got this one right, because they haven't got it right previously in terms of the half-back being able to join the lineout. We're hoping Paul will have a close look at that on Sunday."
AUSTRALIA: J Roff; W Sailor, C Rathbone, M Giteau, L Tuqiri; S Larkham, G Gregan (captain); B Young, B Cannon, A Baxter, J Harrison, N Sharpe, R Samo, G Smith, D Lyons. Replacements: J Paul, M Dunning, D Vickerman, P Waugh, M Turinui, M Burke, C Latham.
SCOTLAND: H Southwell; S Lamont, B Hinshelwood, A Henderson, S Webster; D Parks, C Cusiter; T Smith, G Bulloch, B Douglas, S Grimes, S Murray (captain), J White, D MacFadyen, A Hogg. Replacements: S Scott, C Smith, I Fullarton, J Petrie, M Blair, G Ross, G Morrison.
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand).
