RC Toulon had to hang on to beat Glasgow Warriors 30-29 on Sunday evening in Round 2 of the Investec Champions Cup.
Spurred on by a passionate home crowd and buoyed by their successful ventures in South Africa, RC Toulon made the perfect start. Leicester Fainga’anuku finished off a powerful ruck to secure the first points for the hosts.
The French side, however, could not withstand a swift Scottish response.
The Glasgow Warriors earned a penalty try, and with Lewis Ludlam shown yellow for his involvement, Toulon were reduced to 13 men, having already conceded another player to the sin bin.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Toulonnais remained composed, capitalising on two penalties to regain their lead.
Glasgow continued to press, and an expertly executed switch play freed Josh McKay on the left to dive over for a try. However, a missed conversion left the French side with a slender 13-12 advantage heading into the break.
RC Toulon remain firm despite Glasgow's comeback for Perfect Start
Eager to build on their narrow one-point lead at the break, Toulon began the second half with real intent.
It took just three minutes for their ambition to pay off, as Leicester Fainga’anuku capitalised on a dominant scrum, picking up the ball and gliding over to score.
The try only added fuel to Toulon’s unrelenting fire. Just five minutes later, Brian Alainu’uese powered his way through to touch down, and with a third successful conversion from Baptiste Serin, the French side put real daylight between themselves and the visitors.
Glasgow, however, was quick to respond. Olujare Oguntibeju, following a fiercely contested ruck, fended off two Toulon defenders to force his way over and reduce the deficit.
With the game finely poised, the final 20 minutes played out as a tense affair. Once again, it was the ever-reliable Baptiste Serin who proved pivotal, slotting a penalty in the 74th minute to restore an eight-point cushion for Toulon.
Drama ensued in the dying moments when Johnny Matthews crossed for Glasgow, cutting the gap to just one point. However, Toulon’s resilience held firm, and they managed to see out the game to secure their second Investec Champions Cup victory with 30-29.
Scorers:
RC Toulon: Tries: Leicester Fainga'anuku (2), Brian Alainu'uese. Conversions: Baptiste Serin (3) Penalties: Marius Domon, Baptiste Serin.
Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Penalty Try, Josh McKay, Olujare Oguntibeju, Johnny Matthews. Conversions: Duncan Weir, George Horne Penalty: Duncan Weir.
Teams:
RC Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 13 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Brian Alainu’uese, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Dany Priso. Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Matthias Halagahu, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Jules Danglot, 22 Enzo Herve, 23 Setariki Tuicuvu.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Henco Venter, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Olujare Oguntibeju, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Jamie Bhatti. Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan.