Sale's Kingsley Jones slams Warren Gatland of Wales over Dwayne Peel

Sale's director of rugby, Kingsley Jones, has criticised the Wales coach, Warren Gatland, for leaving Dwayne Peel out of his Six Nations squad. The scrum-half is recovering from a groin strain but is expected to be fit in time for the start of the tournament. Gatland said Peel's fitness would be monitored and did not rule out adding him to the squad next month. Peel is out of contract at Edgeley Park at the end of the season and Gatland, who has a policy of favouring home-based players, wants the 28-year-old to return to Wales. "Dwayne is a very popular player in Wales with the supporters and the media," said Jones, who is a former Wales captain. "I think, in terms of Welsh rugby, that he is bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo is in Manchester, but there is this thing around him all the time. "Wales have left him out because he was injured, but Stephen Jones and Matthew Rees were named in the squad even though they had not played for weeks. You can read into that what you want. Let's have the real reason why they do not pick Dwayne Peel." Peel was left out of the 2009 Six Nations squad and he has been third-choice at times in Gatland's reign, behind the Ospreys' Mike Phillips, who is also injured at the moment, and Gareth Cooper of the Cardiff Blues. "If Wales do not think Dwayne is good enough that is their prerogative, but they should come out and say it," said Jones. "I'm constantly having to firefight the Welsh media over Dwayne's future and it has become too much. He's a fantastic lad and our relationship is superb but three months after he arrived here I read reports that he was leaving because he wasn't in a Wales squad and that was when he had 18 months left on his contract. It's crazy. "He has a number of options but I want him to stay with Sale. I will meet his agent and take it from there." Jones and Rees are due to return from injury for the Scarlets at Brive on Saturday. The match will be their last before Wales's Six Nations opener, against England at Twickenham on 6 February.