KO 8.00 at Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Friday 19th May 2023
Live on BT Sport 1
- Glasgow are playing in their first ever European final.
- By contrast, Toulon will be contesting their 8th European final. So far they have lost all 4 previous Challenge Cup finals they have reached (2022, 2020, 2012, 2010) but they did, of course, win all 3 of their Champions Cup finals (2015, 2014, 2013).
- Across all competitions, Glasgow have reached 4 finals in their history as a pro team, winning 1 and losing 2 to date.
- In the professional era, Toulon have reached 13 finals in Europe and the Top 14, winning 4 and losing 8 so far.
- Glasgow have played 26 matches so far this season and average:
- 28.8 points and 4.2 tries scored per game;
- 21.9 points and 2.8 tries conceded per game.
- Toulon have played 32 matches so far this season and average:
- 23.8 points and 2.8 tries scored per game;
- 19.9 points and 2.1 tries conceded per game.
Route to the final:
Glasgow Warriors:
Rd1: Bath 19 – 22 Glasgow
Rd2: Glasgow 26 – 18 Perpignan
Rd3: Perpignan 26 – 40 Glasgow
Rd4: Glasgow 19 – 19 Bath
Rd of 16: Glasgow 73 – 33 Dragons
QF: Glasgow 31 – 21 Lions
SF: Scarlets 17 – 35 Glasgow
RC Toulon:
Rd1: Zebre 21 – 24 Toulon
Rd2: Toulon 29 – 7 Bath
Rd3: Bath 23 – 35 Toulon
Rd4: Toulon 14 – 5 Zebre
Rd of 16: Toulon 36 – 21 Cheetahs
QF: Toulon 48 – 23 Lyon
SF: Toulon 23 – 0 Benetton
Challenge Cup average stats:
Carries per 80 mins
GLASGOW 116 – 101 Toulon
Metres per carry
Glasgow 3.6 – 3.7 TOULON
Carries per clean break
Glasgow 15 – 13 TOULON
Carries per defender beaten
Glasgow 4.6 – 4.3 TOULON
Carries per offload
Glasgow 10.5 – 8.1 TOULON
Tackles per 80 minutes
GLASGOW 132 – 114 Toulon
Penalties per 80 minutes
Glasgow 12.3 – 9.1 TOULON
One thing that jumps out from the stats is that Glasgow’s matches have seen an awful lot more action. Their combined efforts on both sides of the ball add up to 248 carries + tackles per 80 minutes. That’s 16% more than Toulon’s average of 214 for the same stat. The Warriors need to keep the tempo high and see if the French side can cope. It’s not a strategy without risk though, as errors become more likely and Toulon have the kind of backline that will severely punish any mistakes.
Glasgow v French sides in European competition:
Home:
Won 12; Drawn 1; Lost 13
Away:
Won 8; Drawn 1; Lost 19
Overall:
Won 20; Drawn 1; Lost 32
There has been a distinct shift in the Warriors’ success rate over the years. Since 2015 they have won 52% of their encounters with teams from the Top 14, compared to 29% during the rest of the pro era.
Previous meetings with Toulon:
Heineken Cup Round 1, 13/10/13 at Stade Felix Mayol (report)
RC Toulon 51
T: Delon Armitage, Maxime Mermoz (2), Chris Masoe, Matt Giteau (2)
C: Jonny Wilkinson (3), Matt Giteau, Freddie Michalak (2)
P: Jonny Wilkinson, Freddie Michalak (2)
Glasgow Warriors 28
T: DTH van der Merwe (2), Niko Matawalu, Jonny Gray
C: Ruaridh Jackson (4)
Heineken Cup Round 6, 18/01/14 at Scotstoun Stadium (report)
Glasgow Warriors 8
T: Chris Fusaro
P: Ruaridh Jackson
RC Toulon 15
P: Jonny Wilkinson (5)
Ryan Wilson and Duncan Weir were both involved in that last encounter with Toulon the best part of a decade ago and will still be available for selection this Friday.
Mathieu Bastareaud also featured in that game – although he played in the centres in those days rather than the back row.
Officials:
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
AR1: Chris Busby (Ireland)
AR2: Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Mr Barnes’ regular season record for 2022/23:
Matches – 21
Average penalty count – 16.9 per game
Home side penalties conceded percentage – 45.9%
Average card count – 1.0 per game
Penalties per card – 16.1
Mr Barnes first took charge of a Glasgow fixture more than 13 years ago, on one of the most famous days in the club’s history when they turned over Toulouse at the Stade Ernest Wallon.
Since then the Warriors’ penalty counts have continued to be relatively positive with the English whistler in charge – although winning scorelines have been rare!
Here’s hoping the current generation can create memories to rank with the style and class of the likes of the Evans’ brothers, Kelly Brown and John Barclay all those years ago but with the added bonus of a trophy to lift at the end of the game.
Glasgow’s previous matches with Mr Barnes in charge:
14/12/19 – lost to La Rochelle (H)
- Penalties: 21 (For 15 – 6 Against)
- Cards: 1 RC (Matt Fagerson), La Rochelle – 1 YC
23/01/16 – beat Racing 92 (H)
- Penalties: 17 (For 11 – 6 Against)
- Cards: None
13/12/14 – lost to Toulouse (H)
- Penalties: 21 (For 10 – 11 Against)
- Cards: None
07/12/12 – lost to Castres (H)
- Penalties: 28 (For 14 – 14 Against)
- Cards: None
10/10/09 – lost to Biarritz (H)
- Penalties: 23 (For 14 – 9 Against)
- Cards: None
17/01/09 – beat Toulouse (A)
- Penalties: 17 (For 11 – 6 Against)
- Cards: 2 YCs (John Barclay, Andy Henderson), Toulouse – 1 YC
Additional ref stats from:
https://www.cardiffrfcfans.com/analysis/referee_heads.php?countryID=2
On Top Of The Moon 