Women’s Six Nations: Scotland suffer baptism of fire on emotional Murrayfield occasion
So what to make of a day which delivered history for Scottish women’s sport, as well as a 12-try demolition?
It is true, England are not the benchmark for Scotland.
Victory away to Wales last week was a solid start, and now it is all about the response in Italy next week and trying to beat Ireland in the final game, either side of a home game against France.
But all performances are crucial to building momentum and keeping the fans coming back, as Malcolm herself said.
Just ask the Scotland women’s football team, who have seen crowds shrink back at Hampden amid a struggle to qualify for major finals.
The Scotland captain, as ever, got the tone spot on when summing up a strange day.
“Today was about so much more than just the game,” Malcolm said. “For those of us that have been around 10 years plus – we’ve come from back pitches with a couple of people in stands.
“To even arrive today and get the reception we got was phenomenal. It’s a result of the work we’ve done as players on the pitch to put in performances that make people want to come back.
“Today wasn’t one of them. But that doesn’t take away from what we’ve created over the last 10 years to make this happen.
“We’re at the beginning of a new journey. We’re going to keep pushing to get back to that point to put in a performance in that stadium that fans can be proud of.”