Glasgow Warriors reaction: Toulouse win was for those who couldn’t make it to Loftus

A sold-out Scotstoun saw the home side come back from 21-0 down at half-time to beat the French champions 28-21 in a remarkable Investec Champions Cup match.

It was Glasgow’s greatest result since they defeated the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld to lift the URC trophy.

Smith, the Glasgow head coach, hopes the fans will now turn up in numbers at Hampden next weekend when the Warriors host Edinburgh in the first leg of the 1872 Cup double-header.

“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 Smith. “They play an important role for us. I hope that we see them all at Hampden next week. We need that support and we want to make them proud of us as a team.

“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.”

We never stopped believing

A try from Antoine Dupont on his first start since rupturing knee ligaments during the Six Nations gave Toulouse an early lead. The visitors had the wind behind them and a double from centre Kalvin Gourgues had the six-time European champions 21-0 up at the break. But second-half tries from Josh McKay, replacement Gregor Brown, Sione Tuipulotu and Gregor Hiddleston turned it around, with Adam Hastings converting all four.

Smith said his team never stopped believing.

“I'm really proud that they stuck to it,” he said. “It was an easy conversation at half-time. We had given away nine turnovers by half-time, lost three lineouts, been penalised in the scrum. We had been penalised seven times and just weren’t playing, for a lot of reasons.

“The wind and the rain is intimidating. We were playing against a world-class team. I thought we defended really well to keep them to 21 points and I had my doubts about the one try [Gourgues’ first, which seemed to come after a forward pass from Dupont].

“The conversation at half-time was one of belief. Obviously it's an important psychological win for us.”

Smith added: “I'm more interested in the way: not who we beat, but the way we did it, the belief shown. Every aspect of the game was done better and better. The confidence grew. The belief grew. The execution of all the small details that we asked from the boys.

“The plan was always to bring Gregor [Brown] on as an extra ball carrier. George [Horne] would come on in the second part of the game to lift intensity. They slotted in at the right time. The last bunch of boys that came on, we waited until the right time to make sure we have the freshest pair of legs towards the end.”

Top of their pool at the halfway point

Many of the Glasgow players were in the Scotland team that led 21-0 against Argentina last month but lost 33-24. The shoe was on the other foot at Scotstoun but Smith refused to make any comparison.

“I think it's a different challenge,” he said. “I don't want to comment on a Test match. It's obviously a different challenge. But for now, the objective is to keep on growing that confidence and that belief and nurture it. I know how important it is for Scottish rugby.”

Having beaten the most successful club in the history of the competition, Glasgow have laid down a marker. They top Pool 1 of the Champions Cup at the halfway point of the group stage, four points clear of Saracens, Toulouse and Sale. They will play Clermont and Saracens in the new year but already look assured of a place in the last 16.

Asked if there was no-one left to fear in the Champions Cup, Smith said: “There is expectation. I fear expectation. We don't want to carry extra weight going forward. I think we're one foot already into the derby games coming up. For us to use the right things here to grow the squad and the team is important. I know there's a lot of expectation that's going to come now. It's going to be important for me to channel that expectation away from the team and concentrate and focus.

“It's arguably the toughest and densest rugby season that there has been. In fact, there's only one break in the Six Nations. The fact that we do not have the traditional January break, like I explained right at the beginning of the season, to manage all these players and to have them perform in the Six Nations is my priority. The rest of the squad is going to have to play their part as well.”

The only negative for Glasgow was that full-back McKay injured his hamstring in the act of scoring.

“He's pulled his hamstring,” said Smith. “We will have to assess and see what the damage is. We’ve unfortunately lost him, Kyle Rowe and Fergus Watson, all players in that back division.”