Error-ridden Glasgow dumped out by ruthless Toulon

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Investec Champions Cup quarter-final

Glasgow Warriors (12) 19

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Tries: McDowall, Smith, Hiddleston Cons: Lancaster, Hastings

Toulon (17) 22

Tries: Drean 2, Gros, Brex Con: Jaminet

Glasgow Warriors were sensationally dumped out of the Champions Cup quarter-finals by a ruthless Toulon at Scotstoun.

Considered one of the favourites to win the tournament, the Warriors were stunned by the visitors, who won the try count four to three, then defended brilliantly when they had to.

This was an enormous upset given how poor Toulon have been domestically this season - languishing in 11th in the Top 14.

Glasgow were never themselves. They never took control, never displayed their attacking wit and were too soft, too often in defence.

A crushing defeat, then. Glasgow would have had a semi-final at Murrayfield had they come through here, but that dream has gone now. Toulon deserved their victory, no question.

The French side turned around at the break with a 17-12 lead, Stafford McDowall and Ollie Smith scoring for the Warriors with the visitors going one better with a double for Gael Drean and a close-range blast from Jean-Baptiste Gros.

Glasgow hit the front early in the new half when Gregor Hiddleston was driven over but the hosts' deeply flawed, and utterly uncharacteristic, performance saw Nacho Brex popping up on the hour with a solo score that hushed Scotstoun.

Toulon led 22-19 and the Glasgow alarm bells were well and truly ringing.

Toulon have had an awful season in France but saved one of their mightiest efforts for Glasgow, who were unrecognisable to the dynamic force we have become used to seeing, particularly at Scotstoun.

They were missing the power of the injured Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and Max Williamson, and their attack was muted, their tempo diminished. The loss of George Horne at scrum-half turned out to be a grievous one.

Still, with Glasgow having a storming season and Toulon mired in mediocrity for much of their campaign, the Warriors were roasting hot favourites - and they began like it.

In the opening minutes, they asked all sorts of questions and eventually got a reward for their pressure.

The visitors gave away penalty upon penalty, each of them banged to touch by Glasgow. From the decisive lineout, Alex Samuel put it on a plate for Ben Afshar to whip round the back and find McDowall on the inside.

Dan Lancaster put over the conversion and Glasgow had the start that everybody thought they were getting.

What they hadn't bargained on was Toulon - with a terrible record on the road this season - putting it up to them, not solely through their own ruthlessness but also because of Glasgow's own flatness.

Drean scored his first after Toulon patiently and powerfully sucked in the Glasgow cover before hitting them out wide.

The home side then piled the heat back on, winning another raft of penalties, a run of ill-discipline that saw blindside Junior Kpoku binned.

It didn't take Glasgow long to punish them, a beautiful floated pass from McDowall out to Smith getting the job done; 12-5 Glasgow.

If that was the cue for the Warriors to take hold of the game, then they missed their chance.

They have the best defensive record in the Champions Cup this season but, here, they were passive and vulnerable all of a sudden.

Toulon didn't have to do anything flash to score again, just a lot of grunt and a lot of accuracy and Gros was over, Jaminet adding the conversion.

So the Kpoku sin-bin ended 7-5 to Toulon. Unlike Glasgow, that. And unlike them to concede again soon after, this time off a bungled Glasgow lineout and slick handling from the French.

When they worked it to Drean on the right wing, he stepped inside Lancaster and scored. Jaminet missed another conversion but his team led 17-12 nonetheless. Glasgow had problems.

Toulon conceded nine first-half penalties to Glasgow's two, but when you score practically every time you enter the opposition 22 - as Toulon more or less did - then you're in good shape.

Adam Hastings replaced Lancaster at the break and Glasgow got some joy pretty quickly, a lineout maul being driven over with Hiddleston at the bottom of it.

Hastings lashed over a lovely conversion and Glasgow had their nose in front again. Maybe now they could shake Toulon free?

No. A scrum 40m out, a Brex blast that took him past one defender and then another and now an arcing run that saw him go all the way to the line.

A sensational finish from a Toulon perspective, a lamentable defensive lapse when looked at through Glasgow eyes.

Another conversion was missed in the Scotstoun breeze and it was a three-point game again - in Toulon's favour now.

That's how it stayed and that was Glasgow's European season done. Toulon march on against all expectations. Stunning.

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