Gregor Townsend upbeat on facing Racing 92

Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend is looking forward to the challenge of facing Racing 92 in the upcoming season of the European Champions Cup.

As per the draws released on Wednesday, Glasgow are placed in the same group as Racing 92, Munster and Leicester which is arguably the toughest pool among the five.

Glasgow lost a place in the top tier after failing to progress to the final of the Pro 12 in the previous season and are now grouped together along with the Top 14 title winners Racing 92, who also made it to the final of the previous season of Champions Cup.

This is the second consecutive time, both the teams are grouped together as in the previous season, Glasgow did manage to defeat Racing 92 in the group stage at Rugby Park but failed to make it to the knock-out stage.

"When you get to Champions Cup level every pool has the top teams from the best competitions, and not being in the top tier this year meant we were going to get a champion or finalist and Top 14 winners Racing 92 are one of the best in world rugby.

"We know Racing 92 well as we played them home and away last year, so it'll be great to come up against them again this season."

Apart from Racing 92, Townsend is also wary of the challenges ahead while facing Munster and Leicester.

"It'll be great for our squad to play at Welford Road and as a coach I'm looking forward to facing a different European team," he said.

"They're changing the way they play and they have some quality players already in their squad and internationally renowned players coming in to boost it, such as Matt Toomua and JP Pietersen.

"Leicester have always been one of the biggest clubs in Europe, they've always had that pedigree with their stadium, their structure and their past European success."

With former Glasgow lock Leone Nakarawa set to join Racing 92 this season, there is a possibility of the Scottish club facing one of their most successful players in the last two seasons.

The Fiji international won the man of the match in the 2015 Pro 12 final which Glasgow went on to win defeating Munster and was named in the Pro 12 dream team following the 2015/16 season.

Townsend said he will be excited to meet Nakarawa again and believes the 28-year-old will be a force to reckon in the Racing 92 team.

"We've played against players who have moved to other clubs before and it would be great to see Leone again.

"We keep in good contact with players who have represented the Warriors and I'm sure our supporters will be keen to see him play again, but we know he'll be one of their best players."