Australia-born Scotland fly-half Dan Parks reckons he and Jonny Wilkinson will always be under the microscope come what may because of their position.

England No 10 Wilkinson, rugby union's record international points scorer, has been blamed by some observers for stifling the attacking options of manager Martin Johnson's back division.

And there is no doubt Wilkinson's display in Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland here at Murrayfield will be subjected to severe scrutiny.

By contrast, opposing No 10 Parks - once a lightning rod for the ills of Scottish rugby - is enjoying a personal revival at Test level with back-to-back man-of-the-match awards, albeit in a Scotland side that has yet to win in this Six Nations.

"As my dad always said, I picked the position that's going to get the most grief," Sydney-born Parks, qualified to play for Scotland through his grandfather, said Tuesday.

"The position we play, you're always in the game, half-backs and 10s - 10s probably more so because they're in charge of where the game's more or less played," the 31-year-old added.

"They're the ones who are trying to score the points.

"It all equates to you being either the hero or the villain."

Wilkinson was once an undoubted hero after his extra-time drop-goal saw England beat Australia in the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney.

But a succession of injuries, allied to Wilkinson now finding himself in a much less experienced England side than the one that sat atop the summit of world rugby have led many to question whether he is still the right man for the job nearly seven years on.

Those questions intensified after a lacklustre win over Italy was followed by England's recent 20-16 loss at home to Six Nations champions Ireland.

"He's obviously a central figure to the way England play the game," Parks said of Wilkinson.

"They didn't score many tries against Italy - maybe that's it. They lost to Ireland - there are numerous reasons.

"At the end of the day, I'm sure Jonny and all his team-mates know that he's a great player and that's all that's important."

Parks was made all too aware of Wilkinson's qualities the first time the duo opposed one another at international level in 2007.

Wilkinson, in his first England Test since the 2003 World Cup final, notched a Calcutta Cup record 27 points as he went through the card of scores with a try, two conversions, five penalties and a drop-goal in a 42-20 victory.

Parks though has been in arguably the better recent form and, as he approaches his 50th cap this weekend, appears to be winning over his detractors in the Scottish game after an often uncertain career for his adopted country.

Nevertheless, Parks sees room for improvement, especially with ball in hand and he hopes Scotland can utilise the pace of Max Evans, moved out to the wing from inside centre, where Nick de Luca starts in the only personnel change to the team beaten 16-12 by Italy in Rome.

"Getting certain players into the game a little bit more, like the Max Evanses of this world," Parks replied when asked how he could better his game. "He hasn't found as much space as we'd like him to in this tournament so far."

AFP

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