Parry's meteoric rise continues

Rookie Paul Parry’s international debut even surprised Wales boss Mark Hughes, whose gamble on the Cardiff new-boy paid off handsomely with a 4-0 win over Scotland.

The 23-year-old had a hand in two goals having come on as a first-half substitute for the injured Simon Davies.

Davies limped away with an ankle injury that needed an X-ray, which thankfully showed no serious damage other than heavy bruising for the Spurs star.

But in his absence, young Parry created enough damage of his own.

Just six weeks ago he was playing for Conference side Hereford. Now, after a £75,000 (€111,500) move and just five senior games for the Ninian Park club, he has picked up his first cap.

And Hughes was delighted with the Newport-born winger.

The Wales chief said: “He is a tough lad, I have seen that. But I wanted to know whether he has the mentality for this higher stage, and he showed he did.

“He surprised me. He is a young man with no real experience in professional football and he showed skill and confidence out there in front of 47,000 people.”