Dragons hooker Dee hopeful journey to "dark place" keeps Wales on track for Grand Slam

Warren Gatland's men head for Murrayfield on Saturday knowing that victory against injury-hit Scotland (kick-off 2.15pm) will put them 80 minutes away from a clean sweep and the title for the perfect World Cup build-up.

Wales sit top of the table courtesy of their thrilling 21-13 win against England in Cardiff, a success that was two weeks in the making.

In the aftermath of the victory Gatland was quick to point to his squad's toil at their Vale Resort training base for helping them come on strong in the final quarter through tries by Dragons lock Cory Hill and Worcester wing Josh Adams.

"It certainly laid the foundation for the win against England," said Dee, who came on just before Adams' clincher. "It was probably the toughest three days of training that I have experienced in Wales camp.

"The intensity was right up there with a lot of fitness and a lot of contact game scenarios. It was exactly what we needed.

"While we were doing it we talked about going to that dark place and it paid off towards the end of the game when we finished strongly. We were able to dig in and give that extra 10 per cent.

"It was like a mini block of pre-season training, starting with fitness tests as a warm-up. You had to dig deep and get through it, knowing while doing it that we were training harder than we ever had and probably harder than anyone else.

"That gives you confidence when you are in the big games and in the final moments. We felt the benefit and it was similar for this fallow week before Scotland."

Dee had to be content with a brief cameo against England – "I had the call around 70 minutes and the ball didn't go dead! I was itching to get on" – but is growing in the Wales squad.

The 24-year-old from Newbridge made his Test debut against Georgia in the autumn of 2017 and has now established himself as Ken Owens' deputy.

Dee is ahead of Ryan Elias in the pecking order and is set to win his 17th cap in Edinburgh, although the Dragons man takes nothing for granted.

"There is a lot of competition," he said. "Ryan and Ken are both really good players but I feel I can add something to the team, whether as a starter or coming off the bench, which is the role I've done more.

"I feel comfortable in the environment now. It's the same as anything in that you grow in confidence from getting used to it all. I feel in a good place at the moment.

"It was great to get on against England and be involved in a game of that magnitude, experiencing the atmosphere and the buzz afterwards."

Dee has played at the home of Scottish rugby twice before with the Dragons but never in international rugby with a crowd approaching 70,000.

"Scotland are full of heart and have been playing some good rugby. Murrayfield is a fortress for them and we are prepared for a really hard Test match," he said.

"We will have to grind it out, get the win and move onto the next one."

Warren Gatland names his team at midday on Thursday with Adam Beard and Jake Ball battling to replace Hill next to Alun Wyn Jones in the second row after the Dragons captain suffered a tournament-ending ankle injury against England.