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Sexton came off the bench at half time against 'Quins. ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
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Sexton and Phillips not enough to save Racing against 'Quins

The Irish out-half and Welsh scrum-half appeared in the second half of the defeat to Harlequins.

THE SECOND HALF introductions of Jonny Sexton and Mike Phillips weren’t enough to help Racing Metro turn around a half-time deficit as they ran out 32-8 losers to Harlequins in their Pool 4 clash today.

The Parisian club moved this home fixture to the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes in an effort to grow their fan base, but very few will have been impressed by what they saw from the Top 14 outift.

Conor O’Shea’s ‘Quins, on the other hand, were excellent in victory, scoring four tries through Nick Evans, Nick Easter, Charlie Walker and Karl Dickson. Kiwi out-half Evans added three conversions and two penalties as the Premiership side powered to victory.

Trailing 17-3 at half time, Racing coaches Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers sent Sexton into the fray from the bench and the 28-year-old did look sharp with ball in hand. The entry of Mike Phillips for his debut shortly after added more quality to the Top 14 side’s efforts, but neither player could inspire the players around them.

imagePhillips made some powerful runs for the Paris-based club. David Vincent/AP/Press Association Images.

The Welsh scrum-half impressed with his physicality but too many of his new teammates were being dominated for Racing to mount a late comeback. Flanker Bernard Le Roux managed a 57th-minute try to add to Benjamin Dambielle’s first half penalty, but that was the extent of the Parisians’ scoring.

‘Quins welcome Racing to London for the return leg next week with their hopes of progression to the knock-out stages greatly boosted by this bonus point success. The losses to Clermont and the Scarlets in the opening rounds mean they still have lots of ground to make up, but if they can repeat this performance anything is possible.

For Racing, failure to win in England next weekend would leave them in great danger of exiting the competition before the knock-out stages, not something Sexton would have planned for last summer.

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