GLASGOW Warriors’ hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup for the first time hang by a thread after their 34-10 defeat by Racing 92 in Paris on Saturday. Gregor Townsend’s team lost the try count 4-1 against the French club, and are not guaranteed a last-eight place even if they win at Northampton on Sunday then at home to Racing six days later.

Runaway Pool 3 leaders Racing can clinch the top spot if they beat Scarlets in their next match, but even if Glasgow end up above Northampton in second they will only go through to the knockout stages if they are one of the three best runners-up from the five pools.

After the Warriors went in at the break 13-3 down, the game was effectively lost in the first ten minutes of the second half, when two tries took the score to 27-3. Townsend’s team fought back with a try from Leone Nakarawa, converted by Finn Russell, who had also opened the scoring with a penalty. But Racing fought back to score the fourth, bonus-point try on the brink of full time.

Townsend was pleased by the way his team fought back from 27-3 down, but he knows they will have to play a lot more consistently over the next two weeks if they are going to fight their way back into contention. “It’s very encouraging,” the coach said of his team’s fightback.

“It showed their fitness, their character and their willingness to keep playing. What we have to improve is our accuracy, because there were opportunities to score during that period. There was a lot of effort and I imagine it was a great game to watch as a neutral.

“It showed that even under pressure away from home, when a defeat looked likely, we kept coming back. There were positives, but there’s a lot we have to improve on.”

Racing, who have World Rugby player of the year Dan Carter calling the shots at stand-off, are now among the favourites to win the cup. Townsend believes their team is built along similar lines to Toulon, who have won the trophy for the past three years.

“They’re built to do well in Europe and domestically. They’re very similar to Toulon. They’ve recruited some excellent players and they have balance to their game.

“They have a good set piece, a strong defence, but also the ability to attack, which is what Toulon have had in the last couple of years. With Dan Carter at 10 making the right decisions, whether kicking or passing, they are one of the best teams in Europe.”

Northampton are not as strong an all-round team, but they are worryingly powerful up front, as they showed when they beat the Warriors in Glasgow. “Northampton have been outstanding in England for a number of seasons,” Townsend added. “Their game is different to Racing’s - built on a strong pack that will try to win penalties at the scrum and try to get lineout drives, which they’re very good at. I think they scored about 40 tries from lineouts last season, and the next best in Europe is about 30.

“They do have some exciting backline players as well: Ben Foden, Luther Burrell, George North. They tend to use them once the forwards have given them go-forward. It’s a different challenge next week, and we’ll certainly be determined to do better than we did at Scotstoun.”