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"With the standard of competition so high, the competition is like an alternative Heineken Cup and one that would take a great achievement to win.
"Of course there is that carrot of the winners gaining passage to next season's Heineken Cup and that is something that we all desire.
"Saracens have a very good side with Bracken, Castaignede and Hill all having played during the recent Six Nations Championship, whilst Horan has the experience of having done it all on the world stage. We are expecting a tough battle.
"The PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP semi-final represents a massive challenge for us, and one that we are all really looking forward to. The standard of opposition so far in the competition has been outstanding and we will be expecting no different when we travel to Vicarage Road."
PONTYPRIDD LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK
Pontypridd coach Lynn Howells hopes to use the pain of losing their grip on the Welsh Cup as a positive spur for the Welsh club's two legs of the PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP semi-final against London Wasps.
The London club host the first leg at Adams Park on Saturday evening just eight days after Pontypridd were beaten by Cardiff in the quarter-finals of the domestic knock-out tournament.
"We are obviously very disappointed about losing to Cardiff but the boys will have to try and put that behind them and get on with the massive job we face at Wasps," said Howells.
"And we will travel to London with the firm intent of being positive, of going out and trying to get the right result. You cannot approach a contest over two legs in any other way otherwise you can be in real trouble.
"The PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP and the Principality Cup are two different tournaments and playing in the semi-finals of an European tournament is all the motivation we need.
"We have a few players carrying injuries that we could have done without - Robert Sidoli with hamstring trouble, Jon Bryant with a thumb injury and Duncan Bell with a recurrence of his shoulder problem - so we will just have to wait and see who is fit for some a major match. Obviously we would want to get a full team out against Wasps and give it a real go."
Wasps can boast a squad containing four Lions and 15 internationals from England, New Zealand, Wales, Scotland and Samoa and are riding high in the top three of the Zurich Premiership.
"They are pretty strong everywhere," said Howells. "Collectively they are a fine outfit and any side that has Rob Howley, Alex King and Josh Lewsey in their backs are going to be a threat."
TIME TO FRONT UP - SHELFORD
Saracens head coach Wayne Shelford believes it is time for the club to end a five-year title drought by winning the PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP.
"We're now in a semi-final and must play semi-final football," said Shelford. We are here to win championships and bring home the silverware and in this tournament we're on the right track.
"There are two games between us and a spot in the final and we want to be there. The club hasn't done anything since the Tetley's Bitter Cup in 1998 and it's time to do something again to prove to ourselves the fans and everyone that we are a good side and are capable of winning things.
"If we play to the level that we can I think that we can beat Bath at home and then will need to ensure that we do it again in two weeks time at their place.
"The PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP is a good competition and against Colomiers we showed the fans and ourselves how we can play and how we can be successful. We played some fantastic rugby - especially in the away fixture when we beat them 30-19."
ADDITIONAL PLAYERS
Under ERC regulations, the four teams who win places in the PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP semi-finals can register two additional players in any position as well as replacing a front row forward with another player qualified to play in the front row. No additional player may have been represented in the match-day squad for any other team playing in any of this season's ERC tournaments. The following players were submitted for registration with ERC by the 21 March deadline.
