There was particular disappointment that they had failed to make it a perfect day for the man the new trophy was named after, but as one of the latest men to follow Doddie Weir into the national team’s boiler-house observed, they could take solace from knowing that the former Scotland and Lions lock had enjoyed a wonderful day.

“He was in and around the boys on Friday and then again before the match. It was a good day for him,” said Ben Toolis.

“It was good for us all to learn and find out a bit more about Motor Neurone Disease. It was a great occasion and also really important to raise awareness.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get the cup for him, but the day was still a success for Doddie.”

On a day which also saw Leicester City in the Welsh capital, paying tribute to the memory of their chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who was among those killed in a helicopter crash at their ground the previous week, it was only right that events on a sports pitch were placed in their proper perspective, Doddie making a poignant appearance on the field ahead of a game that has brought attention and funding to his efforts to accelerate research into the incurable illness from which he is suffering.

There was, though, a sense among the Scottish players that they had missed an opportunity not only to bring The Doddie Weir Cup home, but to make amends for the thrashing they suffered in the Welsh capital in this year’s Six Nations encounter.

“I feel like we did create a lot of opportunities. We had two tries disallowed in the second half. On a different day, we could easily have got back into the game,” Toolis asserted.

“There were also two or three other opportunities that got away from us as well, but Wales have a great defensive system and they showed it. They put us under pressure, but we’ll learn from that and look to bounce back next week against Fiji.”

While the blunders were not as spectacular as they had been back in February, they again had only themselves to blame for falling behind early on to three Leigh Halfpenny penalties and also for the defensive lapses that resulted in both Welsh tries as George North and Jonathan Davies both broke tackles by Huw Jones to get to the line all too easily.

While, then, there were aspects of their play from which satisfaction could be drawn, there is an awareness that they must do much better collectively.

“We didn’t get off to the greatest of starts. It’s a tough venue and Wales are a really good team,” said Toolis.

“Our scrum was solid and I felt our line-out worked pretty well. As a forward pack, we’re pretty happy with what we did, but it’s a team game, so we need to fix the areas where Wales were able to score tries and points.

“We need to be more consistent. We need to pick up our accuracy and not allow errors to put us on the back foot with easy turnovers. We gave the ball back too easily at times, so we need to be more efficient with how we hold on to it.

“We were disappointed that we didn’t get some tries in the second half, but we’ll look to put that right next week.

“It’ll stand us in good stead. Cardiff is a tough place to play and we showed glimpses of our play and what we can do.

“We will look at things during the week, what we did well and what we did badly. We’re confident that we can move forward.”

As well as near misses in the second half, the video referee denying tries to both Jonny Gray and Peter Horne, the Scots could take some solace from the way they responded to that poor start, play-maker Adam Hastings exemplifying that as he grew into the game, registering a penalty and the conversion of skipper Stuart McInally’s try with his only two shots at goal.

However, the Scot with most reason to depart Cardiff with a smile on his face was young Darcy Graham, the Edinburgh winger who was initially listed as having been invited to join the national squad for training a couple of weeks ago, but who impressed sufficiently to be included in the match-day squad and earn a debut, making a lively little cameo appearance off the bench.

“It was mixed emotions for me because I was delighted to win my first cap, but it would have been nice to come away with a win,” said the 21-year-old.

“I wasn’t sure how long I was going to get on the field. I was just delighted to get on and I just wanted to get my hands on the ball as soon as I got on. I wanted to get into the game nice and early, which I felt I was able to do.

“I definitely want to build on this game and just the experience in general. It was an amazing atmosphere, to win my first cap at this stadium was brilliant. Hopefully, I can add to it in future.

“Four weeks ago I was playing for Watsonians, so the last few weeks have been amazing. I got added to the squad last Monday, then got told I was going to be on the bench, so the last couple of weeks have been overwhelming, just incredible.”

As the exiles return to the ranks this week, he knows he is unlikely to get another chance in the course of this autumn, but it was strangely apt that a day designed to celebrate the life of a big gangly Borderer served to provide such an opportunity for his relatively tiny little kinsman.

Rugby may no longer be the game for all shapes and sizes that it once was, while commercial considerations have done endless damage, but Saturday offered a reminder that there are still those who understand its virtues.