MATCH STATS
former England wing Chris Ashton.
Anything looked possible at that stage, and the close nature of the contest made for compelling viewing right up until the final whistle.
Yet while there would have been a degree of deflation among travelling supporters it was difficult to have any complaints about the outcome. Toulon just about deserved it for being the more dominant side over the 80 minutes.
It was telling, too, how they finished the match in the ascendancy, the Scarlets forced into desperate defensive work as Toulon pummelled their line.
Referee Luke Pearce went to the TMO at the death to ascertain whether replacement scrum-half Sebastian Tilous-Borde had grounded the ball in a lunge for the line that came with the Scarlets down to seven in a scrum because of a late sin-binning for TOULON Bonneval; Tuiosva, Bastareaud, Nonu, Ashton; Belleau, Escande; Fresia, Guirado, van der Merwe, Rebbadj, Gorgodze Fernandez Lobbe, Isa, Lakafia.
Replacements: Radradra for Bonneval (69) Trinh-Duc for Belleau (54), Tillous-Borde for Escande (34) Etrillard for Guirado (59), Chilachava for van der Merwe (64) Kruger for Fernandez Lobbe (64), Gahetau for Lakafia (52).
Sin-bin: Bonneval (37). Tadgh Beirne.
He hadn’t because Scarlets tacklers had flipped Tilous-Borde on to his back. It was a final act of defiance to stave off the heartbreak that would SCARLETS Halfpenny; McNicholl, J. Davies, S. Williams S. Evans; Patchell, A. Davies; W. Jones, Elias, Lee, Ball Rawlins, Shingler, Macleod, Beirne.
Replacements: Parkes for S. Williams (64) Asquith for Patchell (66), G. Davies for A. Davies (51) D. Evans for W. Jones (78), Owens for Elias (59) Kruger for Lee (43). Not used: Bulbring, Price. Sin-bin: Beirne (80). Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU). surely have followed had the visitors returned home empty-handed. That they avoided such a fate was justice done.
The Champions Cup is the most unforgiving of competitions.
There is precious little scope to repair damage, and yet for all that they have begun with a defeat the possibilities still seem endless for the Scarlets.
If they can find a way to limit the impact of a ludicrous five-day turnaround to their mouthwatering home meeting with Bath this Friday night then they need not fear the English side even though, like Toulon, they are powerful and star-laden.
On their own West Wales turf the onus will be on the Scarlets to set the tempo.
Avoiding the kind of insipid start they made to this contest probably holds the key to success in the second round.
Against such formidable opposition you have to expect to be under the cosh for large chunks of time, but the Scarlets were their own worst enemy in the way they conceded the two Toulon touchdowns here.
The first came off a sloppy infield pass by scrum-half Aled Davies that was cut out and run in by his opposite number Eric Escande. The second should have been dealt with close to its source, with Halfpenny’s ill-fated tackle attempt a key juncture.
The wily Pivac and his able assistant Stephen Jones will, of course, readily acknowledge this and set to work on manufacturing victory against Bath.
And they will earn their corn in doing so because the Scarlets’ future in this year’s competition now hinges on Friday’s game.
They are too good to sink without trace at the top table this season, but they are going to have to put on one of those special European nights in Llanelli to maintain their interest.