For 40 fraught minutes on the French Riviera last Sunday, those of a Glasgow Warriors persuasion were probably in need of a fairly robust bevvy to combat the growing anguish.

Heineken Cup? You would've needed a battleship full of it. If the sponsors of Europe's premier rugby union contest pride themselves on refreshing the parts other beers cannot reach, a fearsome Toulon side decided to thump the Warriors in those parts that hurt with a rampaging first-half display.

For Glasgow's defence coach, Matt Taylor, it must have been hands over the eyes stuff for a spell. The subsequent, spirited salvage operation by the visitors was impressive and a four-try comeback, which earned a vital bonus point in a 51-28 defeat by the reigning European champions, helped to soothe some of the gaping wounds that had been inflicted earlier.

Taylor knows about these games of two halves. A year ago, Glasgow tormented and dominated a powerful Northampton in their opening Heineken Cup contest and led 15-0 at Franklin's Gardens but failed to add to their tally and eventually succumbed 24-15.

"We got nothing out of that [Northampton] game," he reflected. "On Sunday, we came away with a point against one of the best club teams in the world. There won't be many teams who will get a bonus point there, let alone win."

While the belated rally earned praise, it's the full 80 minutes that matters and with Taylor's former side Exeter Chiefs heading to Scotstoun this weekend for a "must win" match, the former Scotland A internationalist is confident the hosts have learned their lessons and will deliver on home turf.

The Warriors returned from a pre-season friendly in Devon with a 29-26 win under their belts but Sunday's showdown will be an altogether different affair.

"Glasgow and Exeter are very similar set-ups in terms of culture," said Taylor, who is well aware the visitors from the West Country will be in fine fettle having opened their Heineken Cup campaign with a 44-29 defeat of Cardiff Blues.

"We both have squads who fight for each other and have a really good work ethic. We beat them in a friendly but that's exactly what it was. It didn't count for anything. All that counts is Sunday. Our crowd is great and we run on the back of that. But fans won't win the game. Exeter are a very good side and they'll be pretty buoyant with how they're playing. We'll need to be at our best.

"This week, we need to start well and then front up for the whole 80 minutes because when we are switched on we are capable of beating any side in Europe."

The post-mortem from the Toulon match has been open and honest. The positives have been taken and the failings have been addressed. Like demented surgeons, the star-studded Toulon attack sliced open the Glasgow defence with blood-thirsty relish during a frenzied first-half.

"We were caught in the headlights a bit," admitted Taylor. "The first half was not one we were proud of. We addressed a few issues as a group and were pretty honest with one another, that's what the club is about. It would have been easy in the second half to roll up our toes and not fight but we did fight.

"We are known as a squad that sticks together. We came home with a wet sail, we had a lot of momentum and I imagine we will see a really good response from the players against Exeter."