Glasgow 28-21 Toulouse: Warriors journey out the storm and ship reverberations round Europe

The national team may be stuck in an endless cycle of misery but Scotland’s two club sides at least continue to offer a sliver of hope amid the gloom.

Glasgow’s win over Sale Sharks and Edinburgh’s defeat of Toulon had served as an impressive start to this year’s Champions Cup campaign but those were nothing compared to the bedlam that unfolded at Scotstoun last night.

Toulouse, the six-time European champions, were in town and expected to contemptuously swat Warriors aside. Antoine Dupont was back for his first start in nine months as part of a backline that included Romain Ntamack, Blair Kinghorn, Thomas Ramos and Ange Capuozzo, a formidable force in both the French and English interpretations of the word.

For 40 minutes it all unfolded that way as Toulouse ran in three unanswered tries. Glasgow could barely get out of their own half, never mind into the visitors’ 22. All signs pointed towards another disappointing night for Scottish rugby. The only positive note for Warriors came right at the end of the half when a Capuozzo score was chalked off for a foot in touch.

That would prove to be a far more significant moment than it appeared at the time. If Warriors had shipped a fourth try, then it might have proved a deficit too far. Instead they launched the mother of all comebacks, a stellar second- half performance leading to one of the most famous nights in Scottish rugby history.

If it was difficult to gauge from the stands just how significant the wind was as Toulouse were establishing a 21-point lead but the way the match swung in Glasgow’s favour told its own story.

Josh McKay got them on the way, rounding off the sort of flowing move that has become Warriors trademark. The only lingering negative on the night was the hamstring injury the full-back picked up in the act of scoring.

McKay departed for Dan Lancaster but Glasgow weren’t derailed in the process. The forwards battered away at the Toulouse line before an opening appeared for Gregor Brown, one of a handful of second-half replacements who made a major difference. The Scotland forward took a pass from Jack Dempsey and crashed over.

Scotstoun sensed something was stirring. Suddenly Toulouse’s magic dust was no longer working. George Horne was to take over from Jamie Dobie at scrum-half and the intensity lifted. Horne fired a pass into Sione Tuipulotu who barrelled past Kinghorn to get the ball down. His roar towards the supporters almost lifted the roof off the place.

It was all going one way at this point and when the maul drove over Gregor Hiddleston for Glasgow’s fourth try nobody was surprised, the lead and the bonus point claimed in one powerful push.

Head coach Franco Smith, analytical to a fault, tried to keep a lid on things afterwards but this was undoubtedly a special night and the Glasgow fans lapped up every minute of it.

‘The fact that our people couldn’t be with us at Loftus Versfeld for the winning of the URC, maybe something like this was an opportunity for them to shout as hard as they can,’ said the South African. ‘They play an important role for us.

‘Part of my message on a Monday morning is that we are heroes to a lot of people. We must merit that. I think the appreciation from the crowd tonight was something that will help these players in their quest to become the best version of themselves.’

None of this looked likely given how the first half panned out as Dupont took less than seven minutes to make an impact.

It stemmed from a slick move, David Ainu’u sending giant lock Thibaud Flament lumbering down the pitch. Dupont, bedecked in leggings to cope with the Scottish cold, tracked his team-mate all the way to take the pass and score.

The most contentious moment of the match arrived just five minutes later as Toulouse landed their second try. Capuozzo’s kick was gathered by Paul Costes who offloaded it to Dupont. The scrum-half’s pass to Kalvin Gourgues looked forward but neither referee Matthew Carley nor the TMO agreed.

That was a blow to Glasgow who were struggling to get out of their own half at this stage. When they finally ventured into the Toulouse 22, Jack Willis won a turnover to kill the momentum.

It was left for Toulouse to show them how as they landed a third first-half try. Dupont again was at the centre of it, switching play for Ramos who found Gourgues on the right who crossed for his second try of the night.

The game looked dead and buried. Glasgow, however, proved otherwise with a stunning second- half show that ought to send reverberations all around Europe.