Hugh Gilmour is proud to boast to his children that he played for Scotland, but he admits a shudder still runs down his spine when he recalls his solitary Test appearance.

He hopes that Scotland will flatten Fiji tomorrow to avenge the mental and physical pain they inflicted on him 14 years ago.

Gilmour, a speed merchant with Heriot's, had been a surprise inclusion in Jim Telfer's squad to tour Australia, with a whistlestop hop to the South Sea island.

The jaunt was designed to be a warm-up for the supposedly tougher matches with the Wallabies, and everything appeared to be falling into place when the winger skipped in for a try, but his elation was quickly snuffed out as opposite number Fero Lasagavibau notched a hat trick in reply.

The match finished as one of Scotland's worst displays of all time as the hosts rattled up a half-century of points, prompting Rob Wainwright, the Scotland captain, to describe the experience as "totally demoralising".

Now a businessman based in the Spanish city of Valencia, Gilmour recalled: "Like all young rugby players, I had always dreamed of playing for Scotland, but my debut was certainly a very different experience to what I imagined it would be.

"I had come off a very successful Five Nations with the A team and was called on to the bench for the final match of the senior championship against England at Murrayfield.

"I didn't get a taste of the action that day but I was hopeful I would claim my cap at some point on the tour to the southern hemisphere. So when the team was revealed for the Fiji game, I was obviously thrilled to be given the nod."

Gilmour added: "My memories of the day of the game and the match itself are a bit hazy, but it was very hard and physical. We didn't start very well and let them into the game with some basic errors and turn-overs, which allowed them to get ahead and that really got the crowd involved. Once they were in front, it was a became very difficult game to turn around because they were successfully disrupting us.

"They were also playing some great handling and running rugby and we found it increasingly difficult to get any control of the game. In fact, the 51-26 result shows we clearly failed to do so. It was a disappointing day, ultimately, but I still feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to play rugby for my country."

Gilmour is loving life in Valencia. He said: "I have lived here for nine years now. I played and coached at a local rugby club for the first four years, which was great fun, but then I just ran out of free time. My first daughter had been born and then, shortly afterwards, I started a software development company.

"I still try to play touch rugby whenever I can and I've also been lucky enough to be invited over to Dubai to play in the Veterans 10s with the Xodus Steelers a couple of times which is hugely enjoyable both on and off the field.

"I also try to get down to training with Heriot's at Goldenacre whenever I'm back in Edinburgh. There are still four or five guys around who are old enough to have played with me, though it's now much more likely to be the coaches who are contemporaries of mine."