Paris - All Blacks superstar Dan Carter said he was proud to see Racing92 end their four-match losing streak in the European Champions Cup with a 34-3 mauling of Leicester on Saturday.
Racing had already been eliminated from the pursuit of a quarter-final spot in a tournament where they had finished runners-up last season after losing all four games in Pool 1.
But with a host of second-string players in the line-up, Racing ran in five tries to clinch a bonus point win at the fifth attempt.
"There's a feeling of a lot of pride after we were hurt by our performances in the competition," Carter told BT Sport after kicking nine points from three conversions and a penalty.
"We didn't want to finish the group stages without a point.
"We are now prioritising the Top 14 so some players were rested. The younger guys stepped up and have given the coaches something to think about."
Two-time European champions Leicester were still in with a chance of making the quarter-finals as one of three best runners-up but those hopes were sunk as Xavier Chauveau, Marc Andreu (2), Gerbrandt Grobler all scored tries with Racing also awarded a penalty try.