Back in the summer, Duhan van der Merwe broke Scotland’s all-time try-scoring record in a 31-19 victory over Uruguay in Montevideo.
Still only 29 years old and with plenty of miles left in the tank, Van der Merwe won’t just beat the previous records set by the likes of Ian Smith, Tony Stanger and Stuart Hogg. He will obliterate them.
The same can be said of Darcy Graham. On his first appearance since the World Cup last year, Graham marked his return to the Scotland team with four tries at Murrayfield last night.
Moving on to 28 tries for his country, he sits just one short of Van der Merwe’s mark of 29. Needless to say, the little fella looks intent on making up for lost time.
Yet, in this rout of a second-string Fiji side, some of whom looked like they hadn’t played professional rugby before, it was hard not to question the legitimacy of these numbers being put up by Scotland’s wingers.
Van der Merwe and Graham actually sat level on 28 at one point last night, before Scotland’s big powerhouse winger belatedly got in on the act and moved one clear.
Van der Merwe runs in a try against Fiji and has now scored 29 times for Scotland
They are both outstanding talents, of that there is no question. On their day, in terms of their raw finishing prowess, there isn’t a more lethal pair of wingers in world rugby than the Darcy and Duhan double act.
But at what point do these try-scoring records become devalued by the quality of opposition you are playing against?
This was little more than a training exercise for Scotland against a Fiji team composed largely of domestic players from club side Fijian Drua.
Kyle Rowe charges through the Fijian defence to open the floodgates at Murrayfield
Relentless try scorers Van der Merwe and Graham enjoy a chat after the demolition of Fiji
You wonder what the likes of Stanger would have made of it, a Grand Slam-winning hero who scored the bulk of his tries in a very different landscape.
That’s not to say Stanger and the likes didn’t play against poor teams back in the day. Some of his tries came against such nations as Samoa and Zimbabwe.
But he didn’t play against this level of opposition anywhere near as frequently as this group of Scotland players.
For context, in the World Cup last year, Graham scored four tries in an 84-0 rout of Romania. Then came another four last night.
This isn’t a stick with which to beat him or Van der Merwe. It’s not their fault that Fiji were so poor. Ultimately, Scotland can only play what’s in front of them.
Rory Darge breaks through the Fiji ranks on a dismal evening for the outmatched visitors
But, with Portugal still to come in this Autumn Test series, there’s every chance that Graham and Van der Merwe could help Scotland rack up another cricket score.
This was one of those games where the crowd become totally disengaged. It wasn’t proper Test rugby.
At one point in the second half, there was a Mexican wave which did more laps of Murrayfield than Lewis Hamilton might do in the average practice session at Silverstone.
Rarely is that a sign of a compelling contest. It was a night when Scotland’s try-scoring record was extended further by Van der Merwe, with Graham now in hot pursuit.
For all they are outstanding talents, it does feel like these records become somewhat devalued when playing against such woeful opposition.
