THE decision to move perfect pro Brok Harris from tighthead to loosehead was key in transforming the Dragons into an attacking force at the set piece, believes former forwards coach Ceri Jones.

The 35-year-old South African moved to Rodney Parade in 2014 and became a mainstay of the pack with 3 on his back.

But the emergence of powerhouse prop Leon Brown, who has since gone on to become a Wales international, led to Jones and head coach Bernard Jackman opting to experiment with Harris in 2017.

The result has been evident with the Dragons' scrum becoming solid after previously being a weakness.

It has not only helped the region but allowed Harris to prosper with the popular prop ready to embark on a seventh campaign at Rodney Parade.

South Wales Argus:

"Moving Brok from tighthead to over to loosehead wasn't a small step but it's been a massive move forward for him," said Jones, who won two caps as a Wales prop and could also play both sides.

"He has been excellent at loosehead and it does take a bit of doing, so that's massive credit to him. I think it was a good idea at the time, so I will also pat myself on the back for that!

"We knew about Leon's potential and Brok is a very good rugby player, and having your best players on the field is a massive advantage.

"I felt Brok could do it. He played there a little bit in South Africa and generally if you move from tighthead to loosehead you can do a relatively good job.

"You can certainly keep it solid without being too attacking – because when you are a loosehead it tends to be when you are attacking that it can go wrong.

"You can hold your shape and keep your feet together to be solid but when you attack that is when players can kick out and lose their hops a bit.

"But over time Brok has developed as a loosehead and is able to attack, while his progress also opened up opportunities for Leon and Lloyd Fairbrother on the other side."

Harris delivers with the nuts and bolts of prop play but also puts himself about the pitch, with his fitness shown by starting and finishing all three quickfire festive derbies in 2019/20.

South Wales Argus:

"Last season in his first six games stats wise he was 100 per cent tackle completion and 100 per cent collision dominance," said Jones.

"That sums up his defensive effort, put that in with his scrummaging and the fact that he never misses a lineout call and you see how valuable Brok is."

Jones' spell at the Dragons is over after director of rugby Dean Ryan opted to freshen things up by bringing in former Wales hooker Mefin Davies.

The new man will have an unofficial assistant in Harris with the evergreen South African being an influence off the field as well as on it.

Jones said: "Brok is a proper pro and when you bring in an overseas player you want somebody who is firstly rock-solid on the field and then to be a really good example to everyone off the field, which he is.

"Brok is always on time, he is always strapped ready to go, he is always taking notes in meetings and you can see why he wants to do a bit of coaching after playing."