Once were brothers, brothers no more. Robbie Robertson’s elegiac song written with reference to his former band members in The Band perhaps springs to mind more readily than Sunshine on Leith when reflecting on Hibs’ epic Scottish Cup victory over Rangers in 2016 from the current vantage point.

It’s now eight years ago, which is hard enough in itself to credit. Similarly hard to believe is that Martin Boyle watched all the drama unfold from the bench as an unused substitute. Sabotage would be the only explanation for this scenario being repeated when the same teams meet at Easter Road this evening in the quarter-finals of the same competition.

Scorer of a hat-trick the last time Hibs and Rangers duelled in a cup competition, at Hampden in the Viaplay Cup semi-final in 2021, Boyle is central to his team’s hopes, although maybe not quite as central as has been the case in recent times.

Hibs' Martin Boyle leads the celebrations at full time after his hat-trick helped down Rangers at Hampden in 2021.

New on-loan signings Emiliano Marcondes and Myziane Maolida have removed some of the burden from Boyle and added significant quality to Hibs.

Manager Nick Montgomery believes this front three would not look out of place in either Old Firm first XI. Boyle is delighted to have them both on board with Marcondes described as “a bit of a Scotty Allan-type”, which can only be a good thing. “Scotty was a joy when he was here,” added Boyle. “You kind of get that vibe about him (Marcondes). He is a great athlete, both footed and very technically gifted. We are very lucky to have him."

Now nearly 31, had Boyle begun to tire of being the side's main source of creativity? "I have never looked at it that way," he said. "I am my biggest critic when I have a bad game or a good game but if we have that standard of players in then it can only lift my game even more. If I make those runs then I know I will be found, such is the quality they have. It would maybe take me or Elie (Youan) to beat a man but now we have other players who can do that and cut open defences."

Boyle beat Rangers almost on his own at Hampden just over three years ago with a quick-fire hat-trick that left incoming manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst checking the small print of his freshly signed contract. Boyle had hotfooted it from the Middle East, where he had been playing in a World Cup qualifier against China at a neutral venue in UAE. "It was a quick turnaround," he recalled. "I was in Dubai and I was a bit jet-lagged. I rushed into the game.

Boyle, left, runs on to the pitch to celebrate Hibs' 2016 Scottish Cup final triumph over Rangers.

“I was having a joke with (manager) Jack Ross because I'd never scored against Rangers and he said, 'Let's make it happen'. The next thing is we are 3-0 up!" And Boyle had scored all the goals, the last from the penalty spot after winning the award himself. It hadn’t even reached half time yet.

Might all this still be preying on Rangers' minds? “Nah, they went on to the Europa League final that year!” Boyle pointed out.

Remarkably, their back four that afternoon are still at Ibrox, although Leon Balogun has left and come back again. While it's unlikely Balogun, Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson and James Tavernier will be Rangers' defensive quartet this weekend, two of the four seem certain to be in place.

Less well intact is Hibs' successful Scottish Cup winning side. This band of brothers have dispersed to a variety of places and predicaments. Three of the starting XI have retired, one is skipper of a team battling for a Champions League place in England and another is currently on remand in a prison somewhere in central Scotland awaiting trial. Is there a WhatsApp group chat where they share memories and clips from the famous afternoon?

"Nah," says Boyle. "The group’s gone. Paul (Hanlon) and Stevo (Lewis Stevenson) are still here and we always tell the boys (about it).

“A few of the boys in there (the dressing-room) want to hear Sunshine on Leith, there’s no better feeling. But we need to work hard for that. We need good support and good backing, which I am sure we will have. Hopefully the good days will be back."

One wonders if Boyle has mixed feelings about Hampden in the sun in 2016. When a third sub was sent on by manager Alan Stubbs with seven minutes left – and the score delicately poised at 2-2 – Boyle knew he could start unlacing his boots. All hell broke loose after David Gray's winner and Boyle was one of the first on the pitch at the end, soon joined by several hundred others. He had quickly shelved the disappointment of a few minutes earlier.

“I think Paul Hanlon got injured and Niklas Gunnarsson went on so that put a damper on it for me,” Boyle admitted. “But I was happy to play my part in a few games before it. I played in the (fifth round replay) derby and I scored a penalty in the semi-final (against Dundee United) which helped get the team there, so I can say I have done that. It is a team game and everyone contributed to that win.”

Had he expected to be in the team at Hampden? “I hadn’t played the play-off loss against Falkirk anyway, I didn’t come off the bench there,” he recalled. “The team was kind of settled in that 3-5-2 system. I was not physically adapted to starting games at the time and getting a run in the team. I was still quite young.”

Boyle is set to outlast all those boys of summer, with the future of Hanlon and Stevenson unclear beyond this season. "The years that I have lost I can gain back," he said with reference to two serious knee injuries. "I have worked hard to get to this stage of my career. I will go on until I am not of use to anyone.”

'I rushed into the game': Hibs' Martin Boyle lifts lid on that hat-trick against Rangers and watching cup final from dugout