‘We won with 23 players. Maybe Glasgow had 24’ – Toulon boss hits out ‘referee’s interpretation’ after narrow win
RC Toulon director of rugby Pierre Mignoni.
Toulon boss Pierre Mignoni has hit out at the officiating during his team’s 30-29 victory over Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup.
The Top 14 club are two wins from two at the start of their campaign after beating the Stormers in Round One, but despite the results, the former scrum-half is still not pleased.
“We won with 23 players. Maybe Glasgow had 24”
Mignoni was in the headlines in France recently after he was handed a suspension – which was later successfully appealed – for improper conduct towards a match official after his side’s loss to Clermont in the Top 14.
And while he said that he was happy with the result against Glasgow, he did not refrain from taking a dig at the officials again, implying that the Warriors had an extra player – the referee – during the Champions Cup tie.
“We have to congratulate the players, we knew it would be difficult,” Mignoni told reporters after the 30-29 victory.
“Those who know rugby knew the value of this team… I am happy with the victory. Glasgow take two points, but we pass them tonight after two games in this competition.”
“The context was not easy, I am talking about the context in general. We have to win with 23 players. We won with 23 players. Maybe Glasgow had 24. We had 23 players.”
Two tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku and one from Brian Alainu’uese got Toulon over the line with Baptiste Serin adding nine points from the tee and Maruis Domon nailing two penalties.
“I regret the end of the match”
However, Glasgow Warriors came close to edging the three-time Champions Cup winners, with Josh McKay, Jare Oguntibeju and Johnny Matthews crossing the whitewash before Franco Smith’s side were also awarded a penalty try.
Three Toulon players were also sent to the sin bin during the fixture, Serin, Lewis Ludlam and Domon spending 10 minutes on the sidelines.
The Toulon coach was happy with his team’s fight while being down a man but was not pleased with some of the referee’s interpretations.
“We played with 13 men at one point and I saw players fighting, that state of mind is fabulous,” he added.
“I regret the end of the match, because we could have gone for more. I’m a little frustrated about that, but they’re the ones who took it [the bonus point].
“But in the heat of the moment, I want to remember a lot of things, the players were united. This team shows a lot of solidarity, sometimes in adversity. That’s what I like more and more.
“We have details to sort out, especially on the mauls. We had the feeling of dominating, but there’s the referee’s interpretation. We could have had a different game dynamic by spreading the ball, we’re going to rectify them, but I’m satisfied.”