Daniel Arthur Parks enjoyed an eventful 2010 as he was named man of the match for the fourth time in five games and scored all Scotland's points in their 24-16 victory over Argentina in Tucuman. He thus set a new Scottish record as the highest unique points scorer in a win, surpassing Chris Paterson's 21 point haul against Wales in 2007. On returning to home soil he once again monopolised Scotland's points contributing all 21 in the EMC Autumn Test victory against South Africa.  His drop-goal in the 19-16 win over Samoa in the final match of that series was his 13th for Scotland setting a new record, surpassing the previous best of 12 held by John Rutherford. His 15th drop goal came against Georgia, in the RWC Pool game in September 2011, when he kicked all Scotland's points in the 15-6 win.

In the 2010 RBS 6 Nations Championship Dan was not involved in the opening match against France but was named Man of the Match in three of Scotland's remaining four fixtures, the away defeats to Wales and Italy, and the away victory against Ireland, when he supplied 18 points, including a match-winning 79th minute touchline penalty.  In the preceding game, against England at Murrayfield, he won  his 50th cap - thus becoming the 28th Scot to reach that milestone - and provided all of Scotland's points in the 15-all draw. He replaced the injured Ruaridh jackson four minutes into Scotland's final RWC2011 pool game against England, kicking a penalty and a drop goal in a man of the match performance despite a 12-16 defeat for the Scots.

Dan contributed 15 points (a try and five conversions) to Scotland’s 56-10 win against Portugal on his World Cup debut in St Etienne in September 2007. He played in all five of the Scots’ matches in that tournament, starting in four. After the tournament he topped the Scotland players’ poll for their Player of the World Cup. He made no international appearances in 2009 but returned to the national side in 2010, giving man of the match performances in the last-minute defeat to Wales in the second game of the Six Nations, and the next fixture away to Italy.

Dan gained his first Scotland cap as a replacement in the opening match of the 2004 RBS Six Nations Championship against Wales, and he became Scotland’s first-choice stand-off on that summer’s tour of his native Australia, playing in all three Tests as well as the midweek game against New South Wales Country, scoring a total of nine penalties and eight conversions. He continued as first-choice fly half for the 2004 Abbey Autumn Tests, but he had to wait until his ninth cap before scoring his first international try – in the 100-8 victory against Japan in November 2004. He followed up with two tries in 2005 – against Romania in Bucharest and then Argentina at Murrayfield. In that later match he weighed in with his second international drop goal, and his third was in the 2006 Calcutta Cup triumph against England at Murrayfield.

Dan joined Glasgow Rugby in summer 2003 from the Eastern Suburbs club in Sydney. Before then he played for New South Wales at under-21 and A levels, and for three months in 2001 he was on trial with Leeds Tykes.

His debut for Glasgow was as a replacement in the Celtic Cup victory over Celtic Warriors at Bridgend in September 2003, and he made his first start two weeks later when Glasgow won the Celtic Cup quarter-final against Munster at Hughenden.

Dan became the first player to score 1000 points in Celtic Rugby when he kicked 20 in Glasgow Warriors’ 25-12 win in the Greaves Sports 1872 Cup/Magners League match against Edinburgh at Firhill in December 2009. A week later he played his 100th Celtic Rugby match, adding 12 points to his four-figure tally as Glasgow won the 1872 Cup with the season’s second win against their inter-city rivals. After that latter game he had scored 1027 points from 18 tries, 122 conversions, 214 penalty goals, and 17 drop goals.

A former pupil of Marsden High School (Sydney), he qualifies for Scotland through his maternal grandfather, who was born in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire.