The crowd had parted as the Glasgow Warriors players marched into the Stade Mayol to begin their European campaign last October.

Would that Toulon had been so accommodating. By the end of the first half, the reigning Heineken Cup champions were sitting on a 34-0 lead, had a four-try bonus point in the bag and looked well capable of taking the scoreline into the stratosphere. On that balmy Mediterranean Sunday afternoon, Glasgow were already dead in the water.

Or so it seemed. Over the next 40 minutes, Glasgow staged a remarkable fightback. Even they knew that winning was out of the question, but when they collected a try through DTH Van der Merwe, and then another from Niko Matawalu, an idea took shape. They would have a bonus point of their own, maybe even two, and they would leave with their heads held high. In the end, they had to settle for one, for although they scored another two tries, Toulon stretched their own scoreline too. It finished 51-28.

It was a game that showed Glasgow at their best and worst, their sharpest and their sloppiest, and it is one that will unquestionably be recalled as they prepare for another assault - although past efforts might better be described as sightseeing trips - on Europe by taking on Bath at Scotstoun on Saturday. As the Heineken Cup slate has been wiped clean ahead of the European Rugby Champions Cup that succeeds it, the Warriors are one of the top seeds, although it was devilishly hard to see what advantage that status bestowed when they were drawn in the same pool as Toulouse and Montpellier, as well as the English side.

Glasgow were riding high in their domestic league ahead of last year's trip to Toulon, and they have been doing pretty nicely in the Guinness PRO12 this season as well. But for Josh Strauss, whose outstanding form has been reflected by a couple of man-of-the-match awards, the memory of the Stade Mayol is still painfully fresh, and he can admit now that a combination of complacency and stage fright was central to Glasgow's first-half collapse there.

"Going into that game, we thought we were ready," Strauss said. "But I think we might have made too big a deal of the game when we got to the big stage and maybe froze a bit. Mentally, I think it got to us.

"Going into the half-time break, we began to calm down and say: 'this is not us, we're not playing as we can'. We had been doing well in games going into that match, so the first half was no true reflection of us. I think the second half was much better and we showed then what we were about.

"You have to look at the positives. If you focus on the negatives in any sport it will have a bad effect on you. We have to look at the things we've done well. In last year's Heineken Cup we played some very good rugby at times. We beat Exeter twice. We've got to build on that kind of thing and I think we have put ourselves in a position to do that. Hopefully, we can pull through this year."

Historically, the Warriors have demonstrated an aversion to Europe that is right up there with Nigel Farage's. However, their recent record against English sides is remarkably good, especially on home soil. Over the past five seasons, Gloucester, Wasps, Bath, Northampton and Exeter have all travelled north to take Glasgow on - and all have returned beaten. Yet as the footnotes on all those bank advertisements say, past performance is no guide to what will happen in the future, and there is a powerful impression that English teams have quickened up their games. In short, they may not be as vulnerable to Glasgow's up-tempo approach as they have been.

But then, Bath will meet a Glasgow side who can boast hard-nosed (and hard-won) experience as well as a bit of pace. Most successful sides are knocked into shape by their setbacks, and last season's PRO12 final in Dublin, when the Warriors were beaten 34-12 by Leinster, may turn out to be the making of Glasgow. Strauss certainly believes the defeat has had a galvanising effect in the Scotstoun dressing room.

"I don't think the final was a true reflection of how well we had been playing and what we could do," said the 27-year-old. "We were in the game for a big part, but then we let Leinster run in an 80m try and everyone's heads went down.

"But we have started well this season. There is a bit of fire there. What happened last season might be contributing to it because that failure in the final might be spurring everyone on.

"A lot of hard work went into it, leading up to that final. Having never won a title or anything before, it was so big for us just getting there, and it was very disappointing the way it turned out.

"On the day we came in for pre-season a few months ago, there was a very strong feeling among the players and everyone knew what we were working towards going into the first week."

The emphasis was because their first match was against Leinster. Glasgow won 22-20, and although it was a scratchy performance, it set them up for the winning run that followed over the next few weeks. Now in his third season with the club, Strauss has taken an enhanced leadership role, being an impressive captain while Al Kellock recovered from shoulder surgery.

If he can maintain that performance level then it is beyond belief that he will not figure in Scotland's World Cup squad next year. The South African-born No 8 will become eligible for his adopted country on 19 September, 2015, just four days before the Scots open their tournament against Japan in Gloucester.

By which time, too, the famously luxuriant Strauss beard may be a thing of the past. Two weeks ago, he and his wife celebrated the arrival of daughter Sadie-Lee, and it is a well-known fact that babies can react badly to the sort of unpredictable shaving - more topiary, really - routine he has followed until now.

"I'm keeping it for this season," said Strauss. "When I shave it off after a year of rugby I'm hoping she won't be too freaked out by me."