But barring a heavy 51-28 defeat to reigning champions Toulon in their opener, Glasgow were far from embarrassed in this season's competition.
This was epitomised by running RaboDirect PRO12 rivals Cardiff Blues close both home and away, as well as a close 15-8 home loss to Toulon at Scotstoun to round off their campaign.
And while Glasgow have just RaboDirect PRO12 duties to look forward to for the rest of the season, failing to grab a consolation spot in the Challenge Cup, Townsend is adamant it will be a different story next time around.
"The frustrating thing for us is that we showed that character and application in those other four games, but in the two Cardiff games we didn't," Townsend told the Dundee Courier.
"We didn't make the most of our possession in the match down there, losing ball in their 22 and a poor penalty count, and up here we didn't make the most of our possession when we were on the line.
"The two games against Exeter were really good and I was really proud of the players' efforts here. Yes, we maybe let things slip with our discipline and not taking opportunities in that third quarter but it was a huge effort to come back in the end, huge character.
"So that's the frustrating thing but I think we've learned a lot. We've learned what we can do against these teams and what we need to do to beat them."
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