Northampton Saints qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup on Saturday, despite falling to a 32-8 defeat at home to Racing Metro.
The two sides came into the clash knowing the winner would seal top spot in Pool Five and a home draw in the last eight, but the Top 14 outfit proved much too strong for their Premiership hosts.
Maxime Machenaud gave Racing a 6-0 lead from the tee and, after Stephen Myler had got three points on the board for Saints, Juan Imhoff scored the first try of the game to strengthen his side's grip on the encounter.
The Argentine crossed the whitewash for a second time shortly after the interval and Benjamin Lapeyre went over soon after - Machenaud adding the extras to both touchdowns.
George North's second-half try was the sum of Saints' meagre resistance, and Wales international colleague Jamie Roberts powered over from close range to seal the bonus point for Racing.
England forward Tom Wood limped off with an ankle injury on a bad day all round for Saints, while Dylan Hartley's first-half sin-binning raised further questions over the skipper's poor discipline.
Racing qualify for the last eight as top seeds, ahead of reigning European champions Toulon, who rounded off their Pool Three campaign with a 26-3 win at Scarlets.
The visitors were 19-3 up at half-time at Parc y Scarlets, with Bryan Habana's converted try 10 minutes into the second period the only addition to the scoreline after the interval.
Leicester Tigers' hopes of qualifying as a best-placed runner up from Pool Three were ended by Ulster, who had nothing to play for but claimed a 26-7 win at Ravenhill - centre Darren Cave touching down three times.
Leicester lock Geoff Parling left the field three minutes into the clash, potentially casting doubt over his involvement in the Six Nations with England.
Wasps face a nervous wait to see if they will qualify as runners-up from Pool Two after they were held to a 20-20 draw by Leinster at the Ricoh Arena.
The result sent the Irish province into the last eight, but Dai Young's men could yet be overtaken by Saracens, Bath and Glasgow Warriors - all playing on Sunday - in the race for three runners-up qualifying spots.
Wasps and Leinster's draw ended Harlequins' chances of progression, despite a 47-19 win at Castres for the Premiership outfit.
In the day's remaining encounter, Benetton Treviso beat Ospreys 23-20 for their first, and only, win of the tournament.