The emotional Sione Tuipulotu reaction to 'crazy' Glasgow win

Sione Tuipulotu hailed one of Glasgow’s “great home victories” against Toulouse but insisted there is more to come as they aim to progress deep into the Champions Cup knockout stages.

The Scotland captain scored the third of their four second-half tries on a remarkable night at Scotstoun as Warriors hit back from a 21-0 half-time deficit to down the six-time European champions 28-21 and move top of Pool 1 with a second successive bonus-point win.

Tuipulotu said there was no panic at half-time after a first 40 minutes in which Glasgow had played into a swirling wind with driving rain also making handling treacherous, although Toulouse showed their class with an early try from Antoine Dupont – starting his first match in nine months after a knee injury – and a brace of scores from centre Kalvin Gourgues.

But a vital try-saving tackle by Jamie Dobie on Toulouse wing Ange Capuozzo in the last play of the half prevented further damage and with the wind at their backs, Glasgow produced a second-half comeback for the ages.

Josh McKay, replacement Gregor Brown and Tuipulotu all crossed in a stunning 14-minute burst before Gregor Hiddleston finished off a lineout drive with 11 minutes left to cap a thrilling comeback.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Glasgow

28 - 21

Full-time

Toulouse

All Stats and Data

“We knew it was going to be difficult to play in the first half with the wind and the conditions,” Tuipulotu told Premier Sports. “But we’ve been behind in a lot of games and every time [head coach] Franco [Smith] speaks at half-time and I look around the changing room, I don’t doubt anyone believes we can come back.

“We train on this ground every single day, we are used to the conditions. When we scored soon after half-time, I thought something might be brewing.

“With the respect I have for that Toulouse team and everything they have achieved, it is one of the great home victories for us. I don’t want to down-play it.

“It was just amazing to be a part of. I am so proud of where the group’s headed. The crazy thing is we have still got more out there; we can still build on that. I’m so happy.”

Glasgow reached the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition for a third time last year but with several key personnel missing, were blown away 52-0 by Leinster in a humbling last-eight encounter in Dublin.

But having won at Sale in their opening pool fixture last week, coming back from an early 14-0 deficit to prevail, Warriors have made a powerful statement heading into the rest of the competition, with a trip to face Clermont next up in January before completing their pool games with a home clash against Saracens.

Head coach Franco Smith refused to get carried away with his side’s stunning triumph but admitted his players should take plenty of belief from toppling Toulouse.

“We believe we can do well in the competition,” he said. “We have fallen short quite a bit over the years. We would like to progress on that, but I’m not going to add any extra pressure on us.

“We need progression and we need to handle the last 25 minutes of a game better and not start with a deficit like we’ve had for the last two weeks, so I’d rather concentrate on that.

“Getting through the pool is the first objective, then we will see after that. Ending top of the pool will win nothing – it is the progression beyond it that’s going to be important. This was important to get belief. Against a world-class club team like Toulouse, to get one over them was the most important thing.

“The players here are very competitive and they want to make the next step. They have been on the losing side in important games for a long time, so you have to have a heart for these boys.”

Once the euphoria of Saturday’s victory fades, Smith will need to ready his squad for the first of a festive URC double-header against Scottish rivals Edinburgh, with the first leg at Hampden Park next Saturday before the return fixture at Murrayfield on 27 December.

“This [result] also creates a lot of expectation,” he added. “It is not even Christmas yet and there is a lot of rugby to be played. We have only played three games in a 10-week block. There is an international window coming up with the Six Nations, so these players are going to be challenged. To manage them through this next block is more important than the results, to make sure we continue to progress and grow.

“It is easy to build a team up to say 80%, but that last 20% takes time. We need to improve still on that. We are not going to get ahead of ourselves. We have won nothing yet. We just know now that we can do that. That is the message this week.”