Glasgow Warriors v RC Toulon: Five takeaways as ‘written off’ giants continue ‘remarkable’ Champions Cup journey
David Ribbans, Mathis Ferte and Charles Ollivon and an inset of Sione Tuipulotu. (INPHO/Ryan Byrne/EPCR)
Following RC Toulon’s 22-19 victory over the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final.
The second seed falls at Fortress Scotstoun
Glasgow Warriors‘ unbeaten home record this season, 12 consecutive victories at Scotstoun across the URC and Champions Cup, came to an end in the most painful fashion imaginable. Franco Smith’s side, who won all four pool matches and earned the right to a home quarter-final and a home nation semi-final by finishing second in the overall seedings, are out of Europe.
The manner of the defeat will sting. Toulon, 11th in the Top 14, two away wins all season, arrived in Glasgow’s west end as eleven-point underdogs and left with a performance that owed everything to collective defensive resolve and the individual brilliance of their backline. Glasgow will point to Stafford McDowall’s early try from a beautifully executed training ground lineout move, to Adam Hastings’ impact off the bench when he replaced Dan Lancaster at the interval, and to the extraordinary defensive set in the second half that held Toulon out under the posts for passage after passage.
They will know, though, that the moments where they had Toulon under genuine pressure were the moments they could not convert. The wind made life difficult, Lancaster’s missed conversion and the general challenge of building scoreboard pressure into the breeze were factors, but Toulon’s defensive resilience in the final ten minutes, when Glasgow were camped in their territory after Baptiste Serin’s kick sailed out on the full, was the defining passage. The three-time European champions are still alive. Glasgow, for all their magnificent season, are not.
Toulon’s indiscipline almost killed them, but their defence was extraordinary
Toulon’s capacity for self-inflicted damage in this match was remarkable and will have given Pierre Mignoni and Sergio Parisse, whose coaching fingerprints were all over the tactical approach, significant cause for concern. Junior Kpoku’s first-half yellow card for taking a Glasgow jumper out at the lineout, moments after Karl Dickson had issued a formal warning, was brainless. Charles Ollivon, for all his brilliance in the carry and the collision, gave away three lazy penalties in the opening exchanges that repeatedly handed Glasgow territory and momentum.
Setariki Tuicuvu was penalised ten metres for backchat in the second half, and Toulon were penalised for sealing off when they had driven to within metres of the Glasgow line. Add Melvyn Jaminet’s three missed conversions, six points left on the tee, and the picture is of a side that did everything in its power to lose this match and still found a way to win it.
The reason they won it was defence. Toulon’s maul defence was the tactical story of the afternoon, a system clearly engineered by Parisse in the coaching box. Rather than competing for the ball at the top of the Glasgow lineout, Toulon stayed low in the drive, getting underneath the Glasgow pack and stopping the rolling maul dead.
Glasgow’s lineout functioned at 100 per cent for much of the first half while Toulon’s operated at just 33 per cent, with Teddy Baubigny’s throwing a genuine liability, yet it was Toulon who defended the set-piece more effectively where it mattered. The goal-line stand just before half-time, when Glasgow had a lineout five metres out and Toulon scrambled to hold them out on the hooter, was the moment that told you this Toulon side had come to Glasgow with a plan and the will to execute it.
Brex and Drean take Toulon over the line
The individual performances of Nacho Brex and Gaël Drean were the twin engines of this victory. Drean scored twice, the first from a turnover where Ollivon produced massive carries in the build-up and Ben White delivered a brilliant pass to release his wing, the second a stunning finish in the 37th minute after Tomas Albornoz and Brex combined to create the space. The step back inside to beat the last defender was the work of a player whose confidence is soaring. One cap for France is a travesty given the finishing ability he demonstrated here, faster than most and more elusive than all.
Brex, though, should have been the man of the match on any honest assessment. The Italian international, who told Planet Rugby earlier this week that “you can’t be a one-dimensional player” in knockout rugby, produced exactly the kind of complete performance he described.
Defensively, his line speed was ferocious throughout, the hit on Sione Tuipulotu in the first half was a statement of intent, and his outside defence work set the tone for Toulon’s second-half resistance. Creatively, he combined with Albornoz and Jaminet to create the second Drean try and was involved in almost every attacking passage of note.
Then came the moment that settled it. On 55 minutes, Brex took the ball from halfway, sold Hastings a dummy that the Glasgow fly-half bought entirely, watched Rory Darge overrun his defensive line, and went 60 metres to score. Jaminet missed the conversion again, the wind tormenting him all afternoon, but the try gave Toulon the 22-19 lead they would defend with everything they had. In the interview room at Stade Mayol last week, Brex spoke about how he had been waiting for the Stormers to go wide, hoping they would not. At Scotstoun, he created his own width with the ball in hand and Glasgow had no answer.
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The battle of the sevens was a classic
The contest between Rory Darge and Charles Ollivon was the individual duel of the match. Darge was sensational in defeat. His carrying was direct and powerful, his work over the ball relentless, and in the second half he produced two turnovers that should have turned the match in Glasgow’s favour, the second coming when Toulon had spent minutes picking and driving towards the Glasgow line only for Darge to rip the ball free and end the threat.
His defensive effort during the passage where Toulon were camped under the posts, with Glasgow on a warning for repeated offside infringements, was exceptional. Matt Fagerson’s tackle count was enormous, and the all-Scotland back row of Fagerson, Darge and Jack Dempsey gave everything across the eighty minutes, but it was Darge who stood tallest in the moments of highest pressure.
Ollivon’s afternoon was more complicated. Those three first-half penalties were uncharacteristic of a player who captained France with distinction and whose discipline is ordinarily among the most reliable in European rugby. Yet his carrying was immense, the power and acceleration through the gain line creating the platform for Drean’s first try, and his 21 tackles across the match told their own story of commitment. He forced Hastings off, with a massive hit, one of many in a rounded afternoon.
Together, the two sevens produced a contest that will be remembered long after the scoreline fades.
The road from here
Toulon will travel to Dublin to face Leinster or remain at home should Sale Sharks spring the upset at the Aviva Stadium later this evening, with the semi-final scheduled for the first weekend of May. Given Toulon’s away record this season, two wins on the road across all competitions, the prospect of a semi-final in Dublin against Leo Cullen’s side represents the most daunting assignment in European rugby.
The final awaits in Bilbao on 23 May, at the San Mamés Stadium, and the draw for the other semi-final pits the winners of Bath against Northampton and Bordeaux against Toulouse.
For Glasgow, the season continues in the URC where they sit top of the table with four regular-season matches remaining and a home quarter-final assured. Smith’s side will lick their wounds, rue the moments of missed opportunity, and redirect their focus towards a competition they are more than capable of winning.
For Toulon, the remarkable European journey of a side sitting eleventh in their domestic league continues, and with Brex, Drean and Ollivon in this form, dismissing them would be unwise. They have been written off all season. They keep finding ways to survive.