Peel is unlikely to be available to the Scarlets for the semi

Dwayne Peel, Matthew Watkins and Mark Jones are the most likely to miss out.

Bath and fellow Guinness Premiership clubs Leicester and Wasps have promised to field their internationals for the Millennium Stadium double-header.

"We believe the WRU is morally wrong in taking this rigid stance," Scarlets chief executive Stuart Gallacher said.

"The WRU has accepted more than �1m from the tournament sponsors, Powergen.

"Now in the first high-profile match of the tournament - at their own Millennium Stadium - the sponsor, broadcasters and public are being denied the opportunity to see the Scarlets' best players.

"We would have thought that the WRU would have wanted to give one of its regions the best possible opportunity of representing Wales in the Twickenham final."

As well as being stripped of Peel, Watkins and Jones, the Scarlets could also lose players who are in the Wales squad but not in the starting XV.

That could include the likes of Lee Byrne, Dafydd Jones, Alix Popham, Matthew Rees, Adam Jones, Dafydd James and Barry Davies.

Wales play Ireland in Dublin on 26 February, and on the Saturday after the Powergen semis they will host Italy in Cardiff.

Nations divided by Celtic League

The launch of the new-look Anglo-Welsh Powergen Cup competition caused huge ructions and Wales were briefly ejected from the Celtic League by the Scots and Irish.

With the WRU having risked so much on the new competition, the likes of the Scarlets were told to field their strongest sides by the WRU and sponsors.

Cup about development - Jenkins

So for the WRU to now insist on handicapping the last remaining Welsh side in the competition seems another strange decision in a week that has seen the Grand Slam-winning Mike Ruddock dislodged as Wales coach.