The Bears topped Pool 4 and cruised past Dragons 56-17 in their quarter-final, but standing in their way are fellow pool stage winners Bordeaux-Begles, who ground out a 23-14 win over Edinburgh Rugby at Stade Chaban-Delmas to secure their spot in the last four.

Luatua, who has featured in five Challenge Cup matches for the Bears this season, stressed the dangers of the French side but also pointed out that a European final would provide the chance to give something back to Bears fans.

“We haven’t played Bordeaux before, so we’ve had to put a lot of work into it and watch a lot of footage,” he told Bristol Bears’ official website.

“We’ve been preparing well and come the weekend, we’ll be ready. We know it will be a tough challenge against a side who finished top of the French league last season, but we’ll be ready.

“Reaching a final would mean a lot of things, but for us, winning a trophy was one of our goals this year and all of the hard work that we’ve put in, it would just be great to see us walk away with something.

“I’ve seen these guys doing the early starts and the late finishes, the coaches and the amount of work they have put in. It would be great for everyone to walk away with something.

“But also, for the fans – they’ve been with us from the get-go and they’ve been part of our journey, so it would be nice to give something back to them. It’s one game away from the final now, so we’re keen to get there.”

The former All Blacks back-row forward highlighted the ability of Fijian centre Semi Radradra, who made his Challenge Cup debut for Bristol Bears last weekend and scored a try in the 56-17 win at Ashton Gate.

“I knew he (Semi) was an athlete, but seeing him run around and through people first-hand – man, that guy is special,” Luatua added.

“We're certainly glad he’s on our team – what a special player to play alongside and he makes my job as captain very easy.

“He’s been a good team man, always doing his role, which is something we’ve been huge on during these last couple of weeks."

You can watch Bristol Bears v Bordeaux-Begles live on BT Sport from 19:45 (UK and Irish time) on Friday night.

Bristol Bears flanker Steven Luatua predicted a "tough challenge" for his side in their European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final against Bordeaux-Begles on Friday at Ashton Gate, when the English club will be trying to reach a maiden European final.