TONY Hanks says Cardiff Blues were the side that impressed him most when he was appointed Wasps director of rugby last summer.

Wasps host Cardiff in the semi-final of the Amlin Challenge Cup on Saturday at 6pm.

He said: “When I came here last year they were the team I admired the most in terms of the way they were playing. They really took some teams apart and they’ve shown that ability throughout this year.

“In the last five or six weeks they look like they’ve got their confidence back.

“They’ve got quality across the board. They get good value from their foreign players and in a lot of positions they’ve got the cream of Welsh players.

“It’s set up to be a cracking game.”

With Wasps’ Premiership hopes all but extinguished by Bath, the Amlin Challenge Cup is their only route to silverware now.

He said: “He said: “I don’t see this as a consolation prize. We wanted to do well in it right from the start.”