The Newport Gwent Dragons are regarded as the runt of Wales's regional litter, but they are leading the Welsh charge in the Magners League and have shown their ambition by declaring an interest in the Lions scrum-half Dwayne Peel.

Peel will be out of contract at Sale at the end of the season, along with the Wales prop Eifion Roberts, and the Dragons are eager to open talks with the pair next month. Peel missed Wales's match against New Zealand last month because it was outside the official Test window and he could not obtain release from his club. Roberts was left out of Warren Gatland's autumn squad even though Wales were without their top two tightheads.

Gatland, the Wales coach, wants his leading players based in Wales and has warned them of the consequences of moving outside the country. Since leaving the Scarlets for Sale two seasons ago, Peel has found himself to be the national side's second- or third-choice No9. He is free to talk to potential employers from next month. The Dragons' team manager, Robert Beale, said: "We are interested in bringing quality Welsh players to the region and Dwayne Peel and Eifion Roberts fit that bill."

The Sale director of rugby, Kingsley Jones, wants to keep the pair but knows it will be difficult. "If staying with Sale is going to impact on their international careers, I am sure it will have an impact on their decisions," he said. "I will do all I can to keep them here."

The Bath and England wing Matt Banahan will tonight tomorrow night face a disciplinary panel in Bristol after being sent off for stamping in a defeat to Northampton at Franklin's Gardens last Saturday. The maximum ban for the offence is 12 weeks – a suspension any longer than two months would see him miss the start of the Six Nations.