Gloucester 20-25 Toulouse: Top 14 side produce impressive Champions Cup fightback

Toulouse staged an impressive second-half comeback to open their European Champions Cup campaign with a hard-fought 25-20 victory over Gloucester.

Premiership side Gloucester led 20-9 at the break, Joe Simpson crossing twice as the hosts held sway in the opening 40 minutes at Kingsholm.

Both were impressive finishes from the scrum-half that saw him break clear from inside his own territory. Danny Cipriani landed each conversion attempt plus a pair of penalties, giving Gloucester a useful lead at the midway stage of the Pool 5 clash.

However, four-time winners Toulouse roared back in the second half, scoring 16 points without reply to prevail on the road.

Thomas Ramos – who split the posts twice in the first period to add to Zack Holmes drop goal – and Romain Ntamack kicked a penalty apiece to close the gap before the Top 14 side struck the decisive blow just after the hour.

Scrum-half Sebastien Bezy darted over from close range after excellent work from his pack, leaving Ramos with an easy conversion to put his team ahead.

The full-back slotted over a further three points with 12 minutes remaining, giving Toulouse a five-point cushion they retained through to the final whistle.

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