DRAGONS tighthead Leon Brown faced a huge moment in his burgeoning Test career at Murrayfield.

The 24-year-old's athleticism around the park has never been questioned but there are preconceptions about his set piece prowess.

Brown has made strides in the tight at club level and after 62 minutes in Scotland he had a chance to show it.

The Scots had opted for a five-metre scrum and the front rower from Newport was flung in at the deep end by head coach Wayne Pivac.

Brown came on for Tomas Francis and produced the goods with a rock solid scrum.

Granted, Stuart Hogg scored in the corner after a defensive mistake by Owen Watkin but the pack had done their job.

Brown has been a familiar figure in matchday squads under Pivac but his club boss hopes the scrum in Scotland earns his man the chance to wear 3 rather than 18 more regularly.

BENCH IMPACT: Leon Brown tackles Joe Marler in last years Six Nations

BENCH IMPACT: Leon Brown tackles Joe Marler in last year's Six Nations

"I'd like to see him play more first and foremost," said Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan. "When I was sat at home having a beer, I thought 'Oh, he's put him on in a scrum that the game is probably going to hinge on'.

"Given the amount of time Leon has had on the field recently I thought that was a big decision, but for him to come through that is great credit to him.

"I think he grew in confidence from that situation and you saw more of the Leon of mobility around the field.

"I don't think it's any secret that Leon's challenge is to go into international rugby and get some of those base level things right like the scrum and that would have been a huge step in giving other people that he can do more.

"That was a moment that if it hadn't had gone well it would have been really tough for him to work through. That's why I'm so pleased and hopefully it's a gateway for people trusting him more."

Brown has fierce competition for the tighthead berth with Francis heading for the Ospreys next season and WillGriff John moving from Sale to the Scarlets.

Samson Lee is already in Llanelli while Dillon Lewis is at Cardiff Blues.

However, the Dragons man has the greatest athletic potential to go with the nuts and bolts, as he showed twice against the Ospreys last season with remarkable tries.

"He's an enormous man but he is a young man who continues to work.

"His athletic potential is huge and he will probably continue to get bigger and move faster. He is one of the most exciting tight five forwards around at the moment because he has got so much scope to get better."

Ryan does, however, have a concern about the amount of game time that Brown is getting for on-field learning.

The prop played against Zebre before going on Test duty in the autumn, where he made a pair of appearances off the bench.

PROSPECT: Leon Brown in action for Wales against Georgia in 2017

PROSPECT: Leon Brown in action for Wales against Georgia in 2017

Brown had to isolate on his return to the Dragons before playing in all three festive derbies and earning a call-up for the Six Nations.

He got 15 minutes against Ireland and then was brought on for the final quarter in Scotland.

"Wales have used him 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, so it's pretty difficult in those moments when there is so much hinging on them to actually get moments of real learning and clarity.

"That's why I was so pleased for him to go on in a pivotal moment [against Scotland] and to get it right, I think that will give people more confidence to utilise him more.

"If you look at his last 18 months he won't have played a huge amount. There are moments in your career where you are on a roll of five or six good games, getting good minutes. The more he gets of those situations the more I think we will see him improve."