Toulon have had troubled season but Glasgow Warriors won’t underestimate them

Four defeats and a draw in their last five games in the Top 14 have seen Toulon slide to 11th place but they at least returned to winning ways in Europe by beating the Stormers at Stade Mayol last weekend to set up the tie in Glasgow.

Happily, Mignoni is also now back at the helm after suffering what he described as “a breakdown” in February. The 49-year-old former France scrum-half asked to take a break from club duties after a 34-14 home loss to Clermont on February 14.

According to L’Equipe, Mignoni had looked visibly shaken after the defeat and questioned his players’ commitment. He then took the considered decision to take some time away.

‘My body gave out on me’

“My body gave out on me,” Mignoni said later. “I experienced what you might call a breakdown, a work overload. I felt it coming on, but you always have this feeling of being a superhuman. You're always taking care of others and not much of yourself.”

The stress associated with managing at a high level affected Mignoni and Toulon are a club with high expectations. They won the Champions Cup three times in a row from 2013-15 and although those glory days may be over a decade in the past they still aspire to challenge at at home and in Europe. They finished third in the Top 14 last season and fourth the year before. They also lifted the European Challenge Cup in 2023, beating Glasgow convincingly in the final in Dublin.

Both clubs have moved on since then and while Glasgow’s trajectory has been upwards, they are not treating Toulon lightly.

“They're stacked with full internationals,” noted Max Williamson, the Warriors and Scotland lock forward. “It's always good to test yourself against them. I mean, they've come here over the last couple of years and it's been a good battle.

A mainstay in the second row

“I know they're not maybe doing as well in the Top 14, but we know what they can bring. They've won this tournament before, so we're not kidding ourselves about the challenge ahead.”

Williamson was part of the Glasgow side that beat Toulon 29-5 in the pool stage of the Champions Cup two years ago at Scotstoun.

“I remember I hadn't played very many games at that point but it was a really big win for us and I think I can take confidence from that,” he said. “We know it's a different challenge again, knockout rugby, but I did enjoy that.”

Williamson, 23, is now a mainstay for Glasgow in the second row and his importance to the team has been heightened by injuries to team-mates Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and Alex Craig.

“It's funny, isn't it? We had six second-rows a few weeks ago and now we're down to three! But we've still got loads of competition in there. There’s young guys ready to step up if anyone else was to go down. So, we're good and I think Scott [Cummings] is not too far away as well.