Glasgow suffered a major blow to their hopes of topping Pool 3 after they only managed a 13-13 Heineken Cup draw against an under-strength Montpellier.
A scrappy first half an hour was punctuated only by a few missed penalties and drop goals from both sides as neither team settled well at the Stade Yves Du Manoir.
After 33 minutes though, the hosts briefly came to life as they won an attacking lineout before creating a sizeable overlap and putting the ball through the hands for Yoan Audrin to touch down in the corner.
The score remained 7-0 at the break and after Ruaridh Jackson and Iliad Perraux had exchanged penalties early on in the second half, Perraux stretched the Frenchmen's lead to a commanding-looking ten points.
Glasgow fought back though and midway through the half, after Montpellier had Maximiliano Bustos sinbinned, they scored a try of their own through Rory Lamont.
After a strong scrum, the ball was spun left and Duncan Weir fed Lamont, who applied the finish and recorded his first try since rejoining the Warriors.
As Glasgow grew in confidence, they had more possession and Weir missed a penalty before he finally drew his side level with just minutes remaining.
Replacement Francois Trinh-Duc did have a chance to win it for the home side but pushed his kick wide and a draw was perhaps a fair result in the end.
Crucially, it still keeps Glasgow in contention for qualification in Pool 3.
The scorers:
For Montpellier:
Try: Audrin
Con: Perraux
Pen: Perraux 2
For Glasgow:
Try: Lamont
Con: Weir
Pen: Jackson, Weir
Montpellier: 15 J-B Peyras Loustalet, 14 Pierre Bérard, 13 Paul Bosch, 12 Thomas Combezou, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 Ilian Perraux, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Masi Matadigo, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Vassili Bost, 5 Drickus Hancke, 4 Joe Tuineau, 3 Kevin Kervarec, 2 Mickael Ladhuie, 1 Goderzi Shvelidze.
Replacements: 16 Joan Caudullo, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Maximiliano Bustos, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Kelian Galletier, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Geoffrey Doumayrou.
Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Federico Aramburu, 13 Peter Murchie, 12 Troy Nathan, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 John Barclay, 5 Al Kellock (capt), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jon Welsh, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Rob Dewey.
Referee: Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees: Sean Davey (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
Comments
Rosbif says...
Bye bye Montpol. Hopefully Au Revoir for next season. 2 draws at home is just not good enough. Welcome to the reality of HCup and big squads to insure against "key man" risks!! The new bench rules also favour the richer teams, with ST and Clermont both able to up the intensity when needed (even if Racing should have, could have, but spectacularly didn't).
Shame, since Montpol is one of the nicest stadiums to visit and play. Good weather, quick surface, crowd near the pitch, and a great bottle of wine after....
Posted 13:48 18th December 2011