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."