THAT Leon Brown’s fitness has not been a major topic of conversation shows that the plan is working for the Dragons tighthead.
The prop may well sit out Saturday night’s United Rugby Championship game against Connacht in Galway, meaning he’ll have to wait until Cardiff at the end of November to match his tally of club appearances for each of the last two seasons.
The 27-year-old from Newport started against the Ospreys in round one and then had a planned rest for the trip to Leinster.
Brown was meant to start against the Sharks but was a late withdrawal – illness and not injury – before having 3 on his back against both the Lions and Benetton.
The Wales international is spectacular when at his best but he has been solid in the first block, which is fine and a step forward.
The Dragons’ medical and conditioning staff have worked closely with their Welsh Rugby Union colleagues to get Brown back in shape after years of injury misfortune.
The rewards have been clear with the front rower racking up the minutes and getting the confidence back.
That he was left out of the Wales squad for the autumn internationals - Henry Thomas, Keiron Assiratti, Archie Griffin got the call - was a relief.
He could easily have come back to Rodney Parade broken whereas the slow and steady approach will get him back onto the Test scene in good time.
Brown is a wonderful player who is a shoo-in for the Dragons when available, but short-termism hasn’t helped him in recent times.
Think back to January 2023 when he was named in the squad for Six Nations before he had even made a club appearance that season because of neck problems.
Brown won his 23rd cap against Scotland but wasn’t released for game time during the tournament and ended up making just three more club appearances that season before injury ended his World Cup hopes.
It was a similar story earlier this year when the tighthead was included for the Six Nations despite having just two outings off the bench in festive derbies and a strong performance against the Sharks’ strong-scrummaging Springbok Ox Nche.
Brown won his 24th cap, once again versus the Scots, but then suffered injury issues that ended his season.
That prompted the conditioning rethink and the prop, whose contract was expiring in the summer, has stayed with his hometown club on an incentivised deal.
The sudden retirement of Lloyd Fairbrother and Dmitri Arhip’s knee injury has meant that keeping Brown fit is even more important, but there will be no risks.
With Chris Coleman and Luke Yendle available, the Wales international won’t be pushed to breaking point and could sit out the Connacht fixture.
“We have to decide whether it’s worth him playing this week because he backed up games in a six-day turnaround,” said Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan.
“He is getting stronger through it all and we have a decision on what is best for us and Leon. Wales and us have a plan to make sure we prolong his rugby journey.
“Leon has had two big shifts and we have two good young tightheads in the squad. He could be a supporting role this week off the bench if we choose to use him.”
Brown might end the first block with a 50 per cent appearance rate. That might not be reason to get the bunting out but it’s something to build on in the bid to get the tighthead to double figures for the first time since 2021/22.
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