GLASGOW coach Gregor Townsend has warned that his team still have a heap of hard work to do if they are going to qualify for the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

The Warriors put in a brilliant performance in Paris on Saturday to win 23-14 against Racing 92, last year’s runners-up. But the French champions will be back at Scotstoun in the return Pool One game on Friday night, and Townsend knows they will come looking for revenge after suffering their first home defeat of the season in any competition.

“We have to back it up,” he said after the match. “We have to get through these two games. Coming home with four points is great, but if we can get two wins we would be in a good position for the last two games.

“Munster have been on fire for the past six or seven weeks and they’ll be really tough opponents. Racing are French champions and European runners-up, and they still have four games left. They’ve lost two, but have four left and they will throw everything at us [on Friday].”

Munster are on top of the group with a maximum ten points from two matches. The Warriors are a point behind but have played a game more, so the Irishmen are favourites to top the pool and take the only automatic place in the last eight. But after seeing his team put in one of their very best displays since he took over, Townsend knows they have it in them to perform at the same level again.

“The [Pro12] final was great, but this is probably second to that,” the coach said when he was asked how highly the Racing result ranked. “The Bath win was probably the best win we’ve played attack-wise. Here, to go away from home against a top team - and they had their strongest team out there - makes me very proud.”

After three straight defeats in the league while many of their first-choice players were away on international duty, Glasgow were able to select their strongest side on Saturday - and it showed as they hit back to stun Racing after going 7-0 behind early on. Alex Dunbar and Ali Price got the tries either side of half-time and man of the match Finn Russell converted both and added three penalties.

“For me, the whole team did their jobs,” a modest Russell said. “As a 10, that’s what you need.

“The forwards gave good ball and the backs were carrying well. Everyone was playing at their best and that just makes it easier for me. I got good go-forward ball to play off, so I enjoyed it.

“I think our game management was really good. We didn’t play too much in our own half and tried to keep them in theirs. The effort the boys put in out there got us the result.”

World Cup winner Dan Carter threatened to haul Racing back into the game with a second-half score after his team had fallen 23-7 behind, but Russell outshone his opposite number, who is accepted as one of the greatest All Blacks ever. “He’s one of the best in the world in the position,” the Scot said of the New Zealander. “It’s good for the confidence playing against him, but it helped that I had the team around me.”