IN the light of Glasgow Warriors’ defeat by Munster on Friday night, there are two very contrasting ways of assessing their Challenge Cup tie against Racing 92 on Saturday. The bare fact of the matter is that, statistically, they are on their worst run of results for several years - hardly the best form in which to take on one of the most gifted teams in Europe. Conversely, there were at least glimpses at Scotstoun of the Warriors’ best form, with the tries from Ali Price and Mark Bennett - scores that briefly put them ahead before Ian Keatley’s late drop goal gave the visitors a 16-15 victory - typifying the improvisational genius that has won them so many big games in the past.

So which filter do we put on our lens as we focus on the Paris match: cloudy or rose-tinted? Certainly, even when at their best, Glasgow would by no means find it easy against Racing, who reached the final of the competition last year. So if they are some way below their best, they are likely to come back from Paris with a second defeat from three games in Pool One - and even in a tight group which also includes Munster and Leicester, such a result could well deal a fatal blow to their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.

But Racing themselves, it should be noted, have lost their one game to date, against Leicester - their first match was due to be at home to Munster, but was postponed because of the death of Anthony Foley, the Irish province’s head coach. And they are only seventh in the Top 14, so are hardly on vintage form in domestic competition. Add in the fact that Glasgow are likely to have Stuart Hogg, Jonny Gray, Alex Dunbar and Finn Russell back, and the outlook becomes a shade brighter.

Unsurprisingly, Price, for one, has an upbeat prognosis as he looks ahead to Paris. The Warriors’ best player against Munster, he accepted that a lot had gone wrong on Friday night, but insisted there were enough positive signs in the second half to justify some optimism.

“Our performance compared to the last two games was a big improvement,” the scrum-half said. “I know we lost, but the effort was there. Building on that second half going into Europe, if we play like that then we can go to Paris and get a win.

“We were incredibly disappointed with the way we started that game, in the first 10, 15 minutes, going 10-0 down. We didn’t want to start the game like that.

“It’s hard to explain when you’re on the field. Certain things don’t quite go your way - early knock-ons, stuff like that. I think I knocked one on off the line-out.

“They’re little momentum swings. If you can’t get hold of the ball early in the match...It doesn’t help when you’re defending the whole time.

“Coming out in the second half we managed to get our hands on the ball and we kept hold of it well. The first 15 minutes after half time we looked like a different side and we were all over them. We were attacking well, and my try was opportunistic, really.

“I felt that was a big momentum swing for us, then Mark scored and we went ahead. We then had all the momentum and it’s pretty gutting to lose at the end.

“We lost ultimately, which is disappointing. But especially in that second half there were a lot of positives and we started to look like our old selves again. We bring back more boys from internationals again next week, which will further enhance the competition for places and everyone will be raring to go come Saturday.”

Perhaps the key question, however, is how easily those returning players will slot into the side. The three Autumn Tests, during which 19 of their squad were on international duty, have meant the Warriors have been unable to field a settled side. Will Hogg and the rest fit straight back into the groove, or will we not see their top form until the home game against Racing on Friday week?

The other important issue, as ever, is which players will be unavailable because of injury. Both Pete Horne and Rory Hughes were stretchered off against Munster, and would surely have come into the reckoning for this week’s game, with Horne in particular being a crucial member of the squad for his versatility and because he provides back-up to Russell at stand-off.

For Price personally, the return to Paris will offer evidence of just how much he has grown as a player over the past year. He made his European debut against Racing in France in January, and after that match sounded grateful to be given a chance to play in such exalted company. In the intervening 11 months he has proven time after time that he deserves that chance, and after making his Scotland debut off the bench against Georgia last week is in very confident mood.

“It’s been really good the amount of games I’ve been involved in since then,” he said when looking back on that last trip to Racing - a match, incidentally, which his team lost 34-10. “Next week we go back there and I’ve obviously been in that situation before, so it’s not going to be a shock to me. That was my first European game and I didn’t quite know how I would go against better players at a tougher level, so I go into it a much more confident player and that’s a big thing as a nine: that confidence to take my quick taps, to drive the team.

“If we match them physically, with our backline and the way the guys played for Scotland through the international window, I think we can cause them huge trouble. They’ve got a big pack so if we can move them around I’m sure we’ll be able to score tries.”