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Hearts forward Claudio Braga went from enduring the “weekend from hell” to being the man who inspired his team’s comeback from 3-0 down seven days later at a raucous Tynecastle.

Braga missed the crucial penalty which meant Hearts tumbled out of the League Cup at St Mirren last time out, but after coming on at half-time against Motherwell on Saturday he scored twice, was involved in another goal, and just generally inspired his ailing side.

“He can be that talisman for us when he’s playing in that sort of free-flowing vein with confidence oozing from him,” Hearts head coach Derek McInnes said.

McInnes was asked the question about Braga’s role in the team following the 3-3 draw, and he answered plainly, saying he chose James Wilson for his ability to run in behind and stretch Motherwell.

Braga, he explained, tends to drop off the front line in the same way as first-choice striker Lawrence Shankland.

“Sometimes Claudio comes too deep,” McInnes told BBC Scotland. “We wanted to try and get four on their last line – we go with two wide players and two strikers against their back four.

“We want Claudio to run spaces more, play down the sides of people more, and some of his best performances for us – as it has been with a few of the foreign guys – has been that impact from the bench, when the game becomes a bit more stretched, and a bit more space afforded to him.”

It was an insightful and honest answer from the Hearts head coach, one which fans may see the logic of.

But the nature of Braga’s performance as a substitute, along with his general output this season, means the case for him to start is becoming impossible to ignore.

He only played the second half on Saturday but ended with six shots – more than any player has had in any full game in the Premiership this season.

Two of those were well taken goals – the first a brilliant run in behind to exploit Motherwell’s high line, before driving beyond Paul McGinn and slamming the ball home from a tight angle.

Braga left a few goals out there, too. He was denied by Calum Ward when through on goal, and again in stoppage time as the Motherwell goalkeeper pushed his effort on to a post.

The Portuguese also had a header from a corner he should have buried. Suggesting he merely brought energy from the bench would do Braga a grave disservice.

But it was the starting point. He was constantly hassling Motherwell, and his touch map below shows he popped up everywhere.

He had the joint highest amount of dribbles for Hearts, and his ability to take defenders on and get a strike away lead to the first goal of the comeback.

“The message I got from the coach and from everybody – even the players – is to come in with energy,” Braga told BBC Scotland. “I think that’s one of my best attributes, so I tried to come in with energy.

“It was a draw, but I feel like we could do more. We definitely could do more. We proved that in 45 minutes.”

It is that determined attitude, as well as his ability, which means Braga is already a fans’ favourite at Tynecastle.

He will surely now start against Livingston next week after five goals in eight appearances.

“Braga is a bit of a maverick – he’s not scared to take it under pressure or when the team is 3-0 down,” former Hearts head coach Steven Naismith said on Sportscene.

“As much as he’s a maverick and he’ll drop the shoulder or do a Cruyff turn, he has the natural instinct of a forward.

Helped by Tony Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics, Hearts have recruited 13 players this summer.

Whether Braga should start or not is only one of the issues McInnes is grappling with, as he works out his best team and formation in this early part of the season.

He switched to a 4-4-2 for this match but was again forced to change personnel early in the match as Motherwell dominated.

Across Hearts’ last three games, McInnes has made seven half-time substitutions, which suggests the starting side have not clicked.

“Maybe I just need to start picking the right team for the start rather than having to turn to my bench,” the Hearts head coach joked.

The lack of a natural right-back with Christian Borchgrevink injured meant Michael Steinwender was shoehorned in, and it is an area they may look to add before the transfer window shuts.

“I’m not sure about Borchgrevink anyway, that’s he’s good enough,” former Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart said on Sportsound.

“They desperately need a right-back to allow them to give them the balance to play the back four. They need to get greater quality in the middle of the park to feed these wide guys.

“The manager is still clearly trying to find his best team.”

South Africa (20) 30

Tries: Moodie, Smith, Etzebeth Pens: Pollard 3 Cons: Pollard 3

Australia (10) 22

South Africa bounced back from defeat to Australia in last week’s Rugby Championship opener with a battling 30-22 victory over the Wallabies in rain-soaked Cape Town.

The boot of Handre Pollard proved decisive as the 31-year-old kicked 15 points, made up of three penalty goals and three conversions.

Canan Moodie, Kwagga Smith and Eben Etzebeth went over for the world champions, who blew a 22-0 lead to lose 38-22 in Johannesburg last time out.

“It was greasy out there, but we played well,” said Pollard.

“Our defence was good at times, though we also gave away some silly penalties. There is a lot to work on, but we take this result.

“We have wings who are unbelievable in the air and it is something the boys put a lot of effort into. We know there is a bigger plan with our squad and we trust the process.”

Australia also scored three tries through Corey Toole, Max Jorgensen and Brandon Paenga-Amosa but were unable to replicate last weekend’s stunning comeback.

They came close to a losing bonus point, but James O’Connor missed two penalty attempts in the final few minutes. It means the Wallabies sit second in the table with five points from two matches.

“It was a great physical battle out there and I am super proud of my boys. We fought right to the end,” said Australia captain Fraser McReight.

“It has been a tough two weeks over here. There were a few moments where if we got the ball back our way, the result could have been different. But that is the beauty of rugby.”

Betfred Super League

Catalans (10) 38

Tries: Smith 3, Yaha, Keary, Aispuro-Bichet, Da Costa Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 4, Seguier

Castleford (4) 4

Reimis Smith grabbed a hat-trick as Catalan Dragons ended a losing run of six Super League games with a comfortable 38-4 victory against a toothless Castleford Tigers at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Joel Tomkins side had posted just one win in their previous 13 games in all competitions, a run stretching back to a victory against Wakefield Trinity in April.

But against an error-strewn display from Cas, the French side shaded a tight first half before stretching clear with five unanswered tries in the second period with Smith adding his third try seconds before the hooter.

Cas took the lead through 18-year-old debutant Alfie Lindsey assisted by quick hands from Will Tate to go over in the right corner on 13 minutes.

And the visitors way given had several more sights of the Catalan goalline only to fluff their lines when tries beckoned.

They trailed by just one score at 10-4 at the break after the first two of Smith’s touchdowns.

But in the second period Catalans were gifted an opening try when Daejarn Asi missed touch after a penalty was awarded for a high tackle and Fouad Yaha ran in from the following set.

From there to the hooter it was all handling errors, poor decision making and missed tackles by Castleford as Luke Keary, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Alrix Da Costa all crossed and, with the hooter about to sound, Smith added a runaway third.

Catalans: Aispuro-Bichet, Yaha, Laguerre, Smith, Cotric, Keary, Fages, Satae, Da Costa, Maria, Sironen, Garcia, Partington

Interchanges: Navarette, Seguier, Dezaria, Balmforth

Castleford: Windley, Lindsey, Tate, Senior, Wallis, Asi, Atkin, Singleton, Horne, Amone, Simbiken, Mellor, Lawler

Interchanges: Griffin, Robb, Mustapha, Salabio