Glasgow monstered by unstoppable Nadalo
GLASGOW were powerless to stop Nemani Nadolo from inspiring a European Champions Cup double as Montpellier kept in the quarter-final hunt.
The spirited Scots looked likely to cause an upset after scores from Fraser Brown, Peter Horne and Nick Grigg gave them the edge in a thrilling first-half.
Vern Cotter’s side stayed in touch thanks to Nadolo and Romain Ruffenach before a pair of quick tries turned things around after the interval.
Benoit Paillaugue crossed in between two tries from replacement Henry Immelman to wrap up the bonus point, before a George Horne consolation.
Warriors head coach Dave Rennie said: “You have to get in front of Nadolo and you have to chop him low. Tommy Seymour got caught in bad positions and got bounced off.
“Nadolo played a big part in their win. He found some space down the left and was a real handful, he got them out of trouble a couple of times and made the difference in attack.”
Glasgow had an early opportunity to run at the Montpellier defence after a knock-on from kick-off.
Aaron Cruden got his hands on the ball to stop the attack in its track, but just when the danger looked to have gone, the visitors struck.
Jesse Mogg’s attempted clearance was charged down by Brown, who held his nerve to fall on the ball over the try-line. Peter Horne added the extras for an early 7-0 lead.
But the heavyweight hosts muscled their way back on level terms four minutes later when Nadolo burrowed over for his fifth try in four Champions Cup matches.
Paillaugue levelled from the tee, but the visitors hit back to take the lead again.
Openside Matt Smith pounced to turnover the ball after a strong Montpellier scrum, and Peter Horne ghosted through the scramble to score before converting his own try.
The rolling maul proved a key weapon for Cotter’s side after 19 minutes when Ruffenach threw into the lineout and latched onto the back of a powerful maul to score.
The breathless first quarter continued three minutes later when Grigg powered through Mogg to score, and it remained 19-14 until half-time.
But two quick tries broke the Glaswegian resistance. First Nadolo charged through Seymour and downfield to set up replacement Immelman.
Seconds later Janse van Rensburg charged down Ali Price’s box-kick and fed Paillaugue for the bonuspoint and a 26-19 lead.
The game was wrapped up when Frans Steyn foiled a promising Glasgow attack, gave the ball to Nadolo, who linked with Cruden to send Immelman over for his second try.
George Horne raced over after neat interplay to earn a try-scoring bonus, but Steyn notched a late penalty to deny Glasgow a point for losing by seven or fewer.
There was still time for handbags at dawn as Bismarck du Plessis and Ruaridh Jackson clashed two minutes before the final whistle to earn themselves yellow cards.