Glasgow’s dream of becoming the first Scottish team to secure a major European rugby title was comprehensively shattered in Dublin on Friday by a Toulon side who claimed their own little slice of history. The French club had lost all four of their previous Challenge Cup finals but ran in six tries in a comfortable win over below-par opponents who only spluttered into life late on.
Even the early loss of a dazed Dan Biggar could not throw Toulon off the scent, with French scrum-half Baptiste Serin contributing 16 points and the soon-to-retire Sergio Parisse, now 39, scoring a valedictory try. Glasgow did their best to recover after going 21-0 down inside the first 25 minutes but never looked like conjuring an improbable comeback on what was, atmosphere wise, a disappointingly low-key evening. Aside from a brace of second-half tries for captain Kyle Steyn and another consolation effort for Sebastián Cancelliere, Glasgow could make relatively few inroads and the final margin could have been wider.
