Wales call up Peel as Cooper cover

Defending Six Nations grand slam champions Wales added scrum-half Dwayne Peel to their squad after Gareth Cooper sustained a knee injury in training on Saturday.

Peel, controversially omitted from the original squad, will join up on Tuesday with the rest of the 28-man party selected by coach Warren Gatland ahead of Wales's tournament opener away to Scotland a week on Sunday.

Mike Phillips and Cooper were the only two scrum-halves selected by Gatland when the New Zealander announced his Six Nations squad on January 19.

The 27-year-old Peel has been capped 64 times by Wales and is also a British and Irish Lion.

But Gatland made it clear the fact Peel been sharing scrum-half duties at Sale with England international Richard Wigglesworth had counted against the experienced No 9.

Revised Wales squad

Backs

Lee Byrne (Ospreys), Mark Jones (Scarlets), Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys), Tom Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Andrew Bishop (Ospreys), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), James Hook (Ospreys), Stephen Jones (Scarlets), Gareth Cooper (Gloucester/ENG), Mike Phillips (Ospreys), Dwayne Peel (Sale/ENG)

Forwards:

Robin Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff Blues), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues), Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues)), Daffyd Jones (Scarlets), Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, capt), Bradley Davies (Cardiff Blues), Luke Charteris (Newport-Gwent Dragons), Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ian Gough (Ospreys), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Rhys Thomas (Newport-Gwent Dragons), Adam Jones (Osprets), John Yapp (Cardiff Blues), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)