Glasgow Warriors player ratings: Back row ‘chopped legs like firewood’ in desperate comeback effort while Lions star’s ‘shortcomings’ prove costly
Glasgow player ratings: Back row 'chopped legs like firewood' in desperate comeback effort while Lions star's 'shortcomings' prove costly
Three-time Champions Cup winners, Toulon, have beaten the number two seed, Glasgow Warriors, in a tight match at Scotstoun on Saturday to progress to the semi-finals.
Here are our Glasgow Warriors player ratings.
Backs
15 Josh McKay: His first and last involvements could not have been any different. With his first touch of the ball, he kicked superbly to put Toulon under pressure, while with his final touch, he was stripped of the ball, allowing the visitors to boot the ball into touch and win the game. Besides those two moments, he had a decent showing, making 60 metres with the ball in hand and beating four defenders. 7
14 Kyle Steyn: Another effective outing from the Scotland international. He was powerful in the carry and ran effective lines, requiring multiple Toulon defenders to bring him down. Missed a couple of tackles, but overall had a decent game. 6
13 Stafford McDowall: Showed his full range of skills early on with a clever kick to the corner and then profited to go over from close range off the resulting lineout. Ten minutes later, he threw in an incredible miss-pass to Ollie Smith to go over in the corner. Again, he was heavily involved throughout, both in attack and defence, as he continued his rich vein of form. 7
12 Sione Tuipulotu: For all the excellence he brought to the game, his shortcomings more than matched them. His handling mistakes were rife, either throwing passes behind the man, too short, forward, or simply fumbling. When he decided to run with it, he looked sharp, dancing through the defence, but was often trying to do so on his own. Criminally gave away a penalty for holding on just before the end of the first half. 4
11 Ollie Smith: A solid performance from the Scotland international. He collected well for his try and looked solid in attack. Was unlucky to kick the ball dead from his own 22 metre line in the first half and didn’t have too much to do in defence. 6
10 Dan Lancaster: From the boot, he looked dodgy at times, either choosing the wrong option or simply executing wrong. With the ball in hand, he was elusive, often pioneering the Warriors’ attack, particularly during the final stages. 6
9 Ben Afshar: Accurate with his passing and looked for the snipe a couple of times, but was guilty of losing the ball on more than one occasion. Not a terrible showing, but will want to tighten up moving forward. 5
Forwards
8 Jack Dempsey: Great work on the ground to force a turnover and tackled hard. He ran with purpose, giving his side front foot ball every time. 7
7 Rory Darge: Glasgow’s key man once again. He was all over the field, leading both the tackle and turnover stats and wasn’t afraid to take the ball into contact either. The heartbeat of the side, he kept his men fighting right until the very end. 9
6 Matt Fagerson: Like his back row partners, he was everywhere. The Scotland international was chopping legs like they were firewood as he desperately tried to ignite his team’s comeback. 7
5 Alex Samuel: The giant lock led the lineout superbly, winning 14, and put in a huge defensive effort, grounding 20 defenders in total. Like many of his teammates, however, he found himself losing possession on more than one occasion, which proved costly in the end. 8
4 Olujare Oguntibeju: While his teammates were scrambling around the park, Oguntibeju struggled to get involved in the game. With a limited number of interactions in the match, at least compared to his teammates, it wasn’t a memorable one. 5
3 Zander Fagerson: Carried hard and put his body on the line, while also keeping the scrum steady. Couldn’t ask for much more. 6
2 Gregor Hiddleston: Made some great carries early on, and was utterly tremendous in the lineout, nailing his throws. Did fade slightly as the game went on, however. Otherwise, he would have been in line for a much higher rating. 7
1 Patrick Schickerling: A defensive masterclass, nailing 16 tackles and missing none. Was solid in the scrum and carried well into contact. Exactly what you want from your loosehead. 7
Replacements: Last week’s hero, Adam Hastings, struggled to match the physicality of the match when he arrived on the field, missing multiple tackles, but did prove effective with the ball in hand. As a collective, they added the much-needed freshness to the side, but were unable to quite get the result across the line after defending for much of the final 20 minutes. 6