NEWPORT Gwent Dragons scrum half Gareth Cooper is desperate to get 80 minutes of rugby in an attempt to win a Lions place this summer.

But Wales' mercurial number nine knows that time is running out and he'll have to dislodge rival Dwayne Peel soon, if he is to be part of Sir Clive Woodward's Lions squad to tour New Zealand.

Time is running out for Cooper who has been reduced to just 20 minute cameos during Wales' last two internationals against England and Italy.

He said: "Dwayne has played throughout the Autumn internationals and has started the Six Nations very well, so I can't complain.

"All I can do is play well when I come on and make the most of my chance to impress. Hopefully my time will come soon.

"The Lions squad is in the back of my mind. It is going to be difficult when I only get 20 minutes at the end of game.

"All the other scrum-halves have started the tournament so well. Stringer for Ireland, Cusiter for Scotland, Dwayne for us and even Dawson and Harry Ellis have done well for England.

"Everyone seems to be playing well at the moment, but it is up to me to try and win my place back but it is hard to impress when you only have 20 minutes."

He added: "There is definitely a temptation to come on and impress and try and make my mark in the 20 minutes I get.

"Probably that has been a temptation in the past and I need to calm down and play my normal game. Confidence is high and I don't have any fears about making mistakes."

Cooper hopes he'll be allowed to play for the Dragons against Ulster on Friday night in an attempt to impress Wales coach Mike Ruddock.

Wales' next Six Nations game is against France and Cooper has fond memories of Paris. Meanwhile, Hal Luscombe and Martyn Williams will both have the fitness assessed today while Colin Charvis and Duncan Jones will both be out of plaster later in the week and will have their fitness reviewed early next week.