There was never any shortage of confidence or class when Gavin Hastings was in his prime for Scotland.
And the former British and Irish Lions captain and 1990 Grand Slam winner must been a proud fellow as he watched his son, Adam, cut a swathe through the Cardiff ranks in the Welsh capital on Sunday.
The 22-year-old was in scintillating form, helping his confreres rush into an early lead in the Heineken Champions Cup clash, and his brilliance and brio straight from the kick-off offered a real glimpse of his abilities.
Indeed, the twin victories for the Scottish representatives – Edinburgh thrashed Toulon 40-14, as the prelude to Glasgow’s 29-12 success – were uplifting illustrations of the new grit in these teams’ make-up.
In the past, the city collectives have struggled to make any sustained impression on the European stage. And that flaky form has been mirrored by the national side, which has too often flattered to deceive.
Yet, there are genuine signs of a renaissance in the Scottish game, not only in their improvement under Gregor Townsend at the last Six Nations, but also the players’ attitude in getting the job done.
Much of that stems from the tough-as-teak mentality of their coaches, Richard Cockerill, a little coiled spring of ceaseless intensity at Edinburgh, and Glasgow’s hard-bitten, Bogart-style mentor, Dave Rennie.
In the past, the visit of Toulon might have provoked apprehension, given their reputation as rugby Galacticos.
But they are a shadow of their former selves and the Scots exploited their failings ruthlessly.
It was a similar story from Glasgow, who had the match virtually won by the interval, such was the ferocity of their attacks in the opening exchanges with Hastings taking less than two minutes to score a try.
That established the pattern for the proceedings and Hastings was the catalyst for much of the mayhem.
He has a lovely sidestep, kicks astutely and proficiently, and looked as cool as Antarctica under pressure.
With the autumn internationals now just a week away, this was a significant triumph for a number of reasons, not least because Townsend’s men will return to Cardiff on November 3 with plenty of gas in the tank.
So far, under the Borderer’s tutelage, the SRU’s finest have experienced precious few blips.
But one of the definite low points was their performance at the Millennium Stadium earlier this year.
The Scots had travelled in hope after beating Wales for the first time in 10 years in 2017, but they were ruthlessly taken apart while slumping to a 34-7 loss.
Fortunately, they soon rallied from that setback and have been on an upward curve ever since.
But they have a few wrongs to right next weekend and there is no reason why they can’t set the record straight against Warren Gatland’s opponents.
If they manage that, it will be the perfect start to a hectic schedule, with Fiji, South Africa and Argentina all Murrayfield-bound in the weeks ahead.