MONTPELLIER BATTLED BACK to deny Toulouse top spot in Pool 4 and also a home quarter-final in the Champions Cup.
That home berth will instead go to Leinster after Bath also failed to get the bonus point win they needed to overhaul the eastern province.
Toulouse kicked off knowing they held their own destiny in their hands, but struggled to put their stamp on the match with Luke McAllister was guilty of missing early penalties before Benoite Paillague opened the scoring.
After 28 minutes, Toulouse scored the first of four tries they needed, Clement Poitrenaud grounding the ball after Pierre Berard was charged down.
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AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
McAllister found his range with the conversion and tagged on two more penalties give Toulouse a 9 – 13 lead at the break.
A second chargedown try after the break was grounded under the posts by Toby Flood and it looked as though Guy Noves’ men were about to cruise to victory. However, Montpellier responded in stunning fashion, Rene Ranger making a midfield break before Lucas Dupont took a sublime reverse angle pass to run a full 50 metres into the left hand corner.
Three minutes later Dupont scampered in for his second try and Montpellier, having looked dead and buried, were the owners of a 21 – 20 lead. Flood would twice nudge the visitors back into the lead, but each time Paillague cancelled out the penalty and Montpellier did enough to keep their noses ahead of their Top 14 rivals.
Bath 20
Glasgow Warriors 15
Two second half penalty tries helped Bath reel in Glasgow and seal a place in the knock-out stages with a hard-fought win over the Pro12 side.
Andrew Fosker / INPHO
Andrew Fosker / INPHO / INPHO
Glasgow took advantage of defensive confusion between Francois Louw and George Ford, allowing Alex Dunbar to blast into space as a trail runner and step a tackle to give his side an early seven-point advantage.
Ford would trim the deficit to 6 – 7 at half time, but Glasgow’s stylish attack continued to impress after the break and Gregor Townsend was moved to give his own team a standing ovation after a glorious sweeping move with clinical flat passes was rounded off by Richie Vernon.
Bath turned the game their way after 52 minutes, a maul yielded a double punishment of a penalty try and a sin-bin for Ali Kellock’s attempt to drag it down. 13 – 11, the home side leading while Montpellier were shocking Toulouse in France.
Finn Russell would tilt the advantage back the way of the Warriors, but a second penalty try – this time off a 67th minute scrum – proved to be the last score of the game and Bath held on to the five-point advantage to win the pool.
Leinster guaranteed home quarter-final as Toulouse fall in Montpellier
Montpellier 27
Toulouse 26
MONTPELLIER BATTLED BACK to deny Toulouse top spot in Pool 4 and also a home quarter-final in the Champions Cup.
That home berth will instead go to Leinster after Bath also failed to get the bonus point win they needed to overhaul the eastern province.
Toulouse kicked off knowing they held their own destiny in their hands, but struggled to put their stamp on the match with Luke McAllister was guilty of missing early penalties before Benoite Paillague opened the scoring.
After 28 minutes, Toulouse scored the first of four tries they needed, Clement Poitrenaud grounding the ball after Pierre Berard was charged down.
McAllister found his range with the conversion and tagged on two more penalties give Toulouse a 9 – 13 lead at the break.
A second chargedown try after the break was grounded under the posts by Toby Flood and it looked as though Guy Noves’ men were about to cruise to victory. However, Montpellier responded in stunning fashion, Rene Ranger making a midfield break before Lucas Dupont took a sublime reverse angle pass to run a full 50 metres into the left hand corner.
Three minutes later Dupont scampered in for his second try and Montpellier, having looked dead and buried, were the owners of a 21 – 20 lead. Flood would twice nudge the visitors back into the lead, but each time Paillague cancelled out the penalty and Montpellier did enough to keep their noses ahead of their Top 14 rivals.
Bath 20
Glasgow Warriors 15
Two second half penalty tries helped Bath reel in Glasgow and seal a place in the knock-out stages with a hard-fought win over the Pro12 side.
Glasgow took advantage of defensive confusion between Francois Louw and George Ford, allowing Alex Dunbar to blast into space as a trail runner and step a tackle to give his side an early seven-point advantage.
Ford would trim the deficit to 6 – 7 at half time, but Glasgow’s stylish attack continued to impress after the break and Gregor Townsend was moved to give his own team a standing ovation after a glorious sweeping move with clinical flat passes was rounded off by Richie Vernon.
Bath turned the game their way after 52 minutes, a maul yielded a double punishment of a penalty try and a sin-bin for Ali Kellock’s attempt to drag it down. 13 – 11, the home side leading while Montpellier were shocking Toulouse in France.
Finn Russell would tilt the advantage back the way of the Warriors, but a second penalty try – this time off a 67th minute scrum – proved to be the last score of the game and Bath held on to the five-point advantage to win the pool.
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Champions Cup Final day drama home comfort Leinster