Glasgow Warriors slay Euro giants Toulouse with extraordinary comeback to post historic win

They trailed 21-0 at half-time but roared back to beat Toulouse 28-21. In doing so they all but guaranteed their passage into the last 16 with two pool games remaining.

This victory will go down as one of the most momentous results in Scottish rugby history - and it was fully merited on the back of a second-half performance which stunned the six-time European champions. The galacticos will be gutted.

“It was such a tough first half in that wind, but so good, eh?” said Adam Hastings in a pitchside interview. The stand-off was brilliant on a night when he controlled the game in awful conditions. “One of the best experiences I’ve ever had at Scotstoun,” added Matt Fagerson, also immense.

The pre-match talk was all about Antoine Dupont and the little scrum-half took only six and half minutes to open the scoring on his first start in nine months. He left the field in the 69th minute and Glasgow moved into the lead for the first time 30 seconds later, Gregor Hiddleston powering over from a lineout drive for the bonus-point try which Hastings converted to make it 28-21.

That was a scoreline which seemed as unlikely as sunshine on Danes Drive when the teams went in at half-time. Tries from Dupont and two from centre Kalvin Gourgues, all converted by Thomas Ramos, had Toulouse firmly in control.

The mood in the stands was low but Josh McKay, Gregor Brown, Sione Tuipulotu and then Hiddleston turned the game in Glasgow’s favour with four tries in an extraordinary second half. Hastings was perfect off the tee,

Steyn: We hadn’t fired a shot

“At half time, we knew we hadn't fired a shot with ball in hand,” said Kyle Steyn, the Warriors captain. “Our forwards had put in a shift, and out wide we conceded a couple of soft tries.

“We were just excited by the fact we had the wind [in the second half], we could get ball in hand and have a crack.”

Glasgow have beaten Toulouse before - winning away against them in 2009 - but this was the first time they had recorded a home victory over the storied French side whose record in Europe’s top tier competition is second to none. They have lifted the Champions Cup six times and will be fancied by many to do so again when the final is held in Bilbao on May 23 next year but Glasgow may have something to say about that.

In this form, they are a match for anyone. They won their opening match against Sale last week and will play two remaining Pool 2 fixtures in the new year, against Clermont away and Saracens at home. Before that, it’s the 1872 Cup double-header with Edinburgh, beginning with the home leg at Hampden next Saturday. They will go into the game in buoyant mood

Home coach Franco Smith had stated pre-match that rugby in Scotland has to be played on artificial grass such are the vagaries of the climate in this country. And the Warriors’ plastic pitch helped serve up a cracking game despite the shocking weather.

Two Toulouse tries in the first 11 minutes soured the mood of the home fans, especially when the second one looked to come via a forward pass - from Dupont of all people.

By that point the little scrum-half had already scored one of his own from a nicely worked move down the Glasgow short side. Ramos converted and not even the brass band playing in the corner could lift the Warriors supporters.

Try number two was more controversial. Toulouse won a turnover in their own half and Ntamack launched the attack. Capuozzo hared up the wing then put through a clever little kick which Paul Costes latched on before feeding Dupont. The scrum-half was half caught but managed to get the ball away to Gourgues but the pass looked forward, and the Warrior Nation certainly thought so. Replays on the big screen did nothing to change their minds but ref Matthew Carley was unmoved and awarded the try, which Ramos converted.

Referee was not Mr Popular

Boos rang round Scotstoun and they were directed at the English official. For the second week running Glasgow were 14-0 down in a Champions Cup tie. Once again they came back to win with a bonus point.

But Toulouse dominated the first half and scored again in the 35th minute when Gourgues crossed for his second. Dupont found Ramos whose pass to Gourgues was perfect and the talented centre slipped the tackle of Josh McKay to go over in the corner. Ramos added the extra two points to make it 21-0 and Toulouse almost had a fourth try in time added on at the end of the first half.

Capuozzo finished acrobatically in the corner but a brilliant tackle on him by Jamie Dobie meant the Italy wing had put a foot in touch before touching down.

Glasgow needed a quick response in the second half and they got it. Two tries in the first 18 minutes of the second half gave them renewed hope and rocked Toulouse back on their heels.

McKay got the first from a classic Warriors backs move, Tuipulotu starting it with the no-look pass and McKay sweeping round to finish after touches from Hastings, Stafford McDowall and Dobie.

Brown, a brilliant replacement, got the next one from close range after a period of Glasgow pressure, with Jack Dempsey providing the assist.

The Scotstoun crowd sensed something special was happening and when Tuipulotu pinballed his way between two Toulouse defenders to score try number three the place was in uproar. Hastings kept his cool and slotted the tricky conversion to make it 21-21.

Glasgow took the lead for the first time in the 70th minute, Hiddleston at the back of the lineout drive to clinch a famous victory on a remarkable evening.

Scorers: Glasgow Warriors: Tries: McKay, Brown, Tuipulotu, Hiddleston. Cons: Hastings 4. Toulouse: Tries: Dupont, Gourgues 2. Cons: Ramos 3.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay (D Lancaster 53); K Steyn (c), S McDowall, S Tuipulotu, O Smith (G Horne 47); A Hastings, J Dobie; N McBeth (R Sutherland 71), G Hiddleston (S Stephen 71), Z Fagerson (S Talakai 71), M Williamson (G Brown 47), S Cummings, M Fagerson (A Craig 71), R Darge, J Dempsey (A Miller 79).

Stade Toulousain: T Ramos; A Capuozzo, P Costes, K Gourgues, B Kinghorn (T Thomas 73); R Ntamack, A Dupont (P Graou 69); D Ainu'u (R Neti 51), J Marchand (T Lacombre 67), D Aldegheri (J Merkler 51), J Brennan (E Meafou 50), T Flament, J Willis, L Banos (M Castro-Ferreira 69), A Jelonch (A Roumat 50).

Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng).

Attendance: 7,321.