Wales and Dragons hatch plan to help man once tipped to be among world's best

The WRU and Dragons are working closely together to get the best out of Leon Brown

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan insists a fully fit Leon Brown is like a 'new signing' for the Dragons as the Welsh region and WRU look to help and finally fulfil his huge potential.

The 24-cap Wales tighthead has had a torrid time with injury over the course of his career and there have been doubts on whether the 27-year-old would reach the heights he is capable of. But Brown was excellent both in the tight and around the park in the Dragons' dramatic victory over the Ospreys.

The watching Warren Gatland will be more pleased than anyone. Brown is a player he earmarked some time ago as a long term solution at tighthead for Wales but his early promise has been stifled by his fitness issues since winning his first cap in 2017. That, however, appears to be behind him, with the athletic 6ft 2in, 20st 4lb prop ticking all the boxes Gatland is looking for in his side.

"I thought he was excellent today," said Flanagan. "He's superb. He's like a new signing for us when he can play like that.

"The challenge is making him better and better. There aren't many tightheads like Leon Brown in the UK.

"It's on us as an organisation to make sure we get the best Leon Brown week on week."

Flanagan revealed the Dragons have been working hard with the Welsh Rugby Union to ensure Brown can go from strength-to-strength over the coming seasons.

He has previously been tipped to potentially become "one of the best tightheads in the world" and keeping him fit and developing is a significant priority for Wales and the Dragons.

"We've been super aligned with the WRU on his programme since the Six Nations," he said. "We are all aligned on what it needs to be and we knew we needed to make him strong.

"Strength was the biggest thing. He looks massive and he's a big man but he's very very strong now which means he can compete at this level and higher.

"We've all taken our time and have been fully communicating throughout the process and we've seen a little bit of reward today."