JUST four months after being allowed to leave Glasgow Warriors, Leone Nakarawa, the Fijian lock, could be making an emotional return to Scotstoun after Racing 92, the club he will be joining, were drawn against his former team-mates in the European Champions Cup for the second year in a row.
The Paris club, who reached the final of the tournament a couple of moths ago, went on to win the French title despite having a man sent off 15 minutes into the final. They did lose to Glasgow in the tie played at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park because of the weather in the last campaign, but it was a dead rubber since Glasgow were already out and Racing already through.
In the draw for the tournament, Glasgow also found themselves up against former winners Leicester and Munster in a pool that Gregor Townsend, the head coach, admitted was about as hard as they get.
"It is tough," he said. "You are going to be facing the best teams in Europe come what may. You are going to get one, two of the best teams in your pool. To have three creates a bit of excitement and shows the challenge we are up against.
"To get Munster, as the team in tier four, the former champions, a team that always plays well in Europe, that is the level of our challenge this year.
"We enjoyed taking on Racing last year. We know we didn’t perform well across there but did perform well at home. Taking on Leicester is a new challenge – I don’t think anybody currently at the club has played them."
To get through to the quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history, Glasgow are going to need something special form their pack in particular, with all three rivals boasting huge sets of forwards.
Having said that, Racing are not short of class behind the scrum either. "They have some outstanding players – Dan Carter, Juan Imoff," Townsend added. "We know how tough a challenge it will be but the fact we have been there before helps. We did learn a lot between the away game and the home game.
"We have played some really good games in Europe over the past few years but not enough of them. We have the squad and now the experience to do well in Europe, despite this group being a real challenging one."
In the second-tier competition, Edinburgh could also find themselves up against a familiar face with their record-breaking wing Tim Visser set to take the field against them when they tackle Harlequins, his current club. Life will not get any easier when they take on Stade Francais, who had a rocky season last term but were French champions the year before. They will, however, be reasonably confident about their matches against Timisoara Saracens, the Romanian minnows.
Champions Cup
Pool 1: Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Munster Rugby Pool 2: Connacht Rugby, Wasps, Toulouse, Zebre Rugby Pool 3: Saracens, RC Toulon, Scarlets, Sale Sharks Pool 4: Leinster Rugby, Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Castres Olympique Pool 5: Exeter Chiefs, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster Rugby, Bordeaux-Bègles
Challenge Cup
Pool 1: La Rochelle, Gloucester Rugby, Benetton Treviso, Bayonne Pool 2: Ospreys, Grenoble, Newcastle Falcons, Lyon Pool 3: Brive, Worcester Warriors, Newport Gwent Dragons, Enisei-STM Pool 4: Cardiff Blues, Bath Rugby, Pau, Bristol Rugby Pool 5: Harlequins, Edinburgh Rugby, Stade Français Paris, Timisoara Saracens
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