Two tries by the scrum-half Joe Simpson could not prevent Gloucester losing 25-20 to Toulouse in their opening Pool 5 match of the Champions Cup.
Simpson’s efforts, both in the first half, took the wind out of Toulouse’s sails and they trailed 20-9 at half-time. But the four-time winners went on to dominate the second half at Kingsholm, scoring 16 unanswered points.
Sébastien Bézy secured the crucial touchdown which Thomas Ramos converted to put his side into the lead for the first time. Mark Atkinson was then penalised for a late tackle and Ramos knocked over the resulting kick to complete Toulouse’s comeback.
Danny Cipriani had converted Simpson’s tries and kicked two penalties to complete the scoring for Gloucester.
“We defended well in the first quarter and Joe’s two great finishes gave the boys a good lift,” said Gloucester’s head coach, Johan Ackermann. “We missed a couple of chances to score just before half-time but after that our lineout was horrendous and they had over 70 per cent in terms of territory and possession. We therefore had no platform to attack from.
“I’m very proud of the boys’ effort but I’m disappointed that we gave them some easy points in the second half.”
