The Warriors were expected to be little more than cannon fodder for the three-time European champions, who had won their opening four Pool Five matches, while the visitors had lost all four of theirs.

So it came as no surprise when Glasgow's 33-26 victory at the Stade Municipal in January sent shockwaves through the tournament.

But while captain Kellock was delighted with his side's "fantastic performance", he was left to reflect on why it had taken so long to materialise.

"It was a great win but it didn't actually mean anything at the time because we weren't pushing for qualification," said the Scotland lock.

"The players we had suggested we could produce a performance like that.

"We've got four or five players who can change a game and you need that at the top level.

"We took Toulouse by surprise with the rugby we played; we went over there and passed it a lot.

"It was a good match, there were few scuffles in it, there was no lack of passion.

"We were playing as if it were a qualifying match - we needed to."

Glasgow followed that remarkable result up with another win in their final pool game.

But it was too little, too late for Sean Lineen's men as their long wait for that elusive first quarter-final continued.

Yet there was something about the manner of the Warriors’ win - they led 33-9 going into the final 10 minutes - that suggested they could be on the verge of producing something special.

"The Toulouse match has proven to many of the less experienced guys that we could compete at that level," Kellock added.