DRAGONS tighthead prop Leon Brown will make his Six Nations debut off the bench in Wales’ opener against Italy on Saturday.

The 23-year-old from Newport is named among the replacements for the Principality Stadium encounter (kick-off 2.15pm) where he is joined by Rodney Parade teammates Cory Hill and Ross Moriarty.

Flanker Aaron Wainwright gets a starting role and joins former Dragons favourite Taulupe Faletau in the back row, with the number eight making his first Test outing in almost two years.

Dragons hooker Elliot Dee’s 18-Test streak is ended by a rib injury that has prevented him from playing a full part in training.

South Wales Argus:

Brown is rewarded for an impressive first half of the season at the Dragons, adding strong scrummaging to his power around the park.

The prop will win his seventh cap and make his Six Nations debut, backing up Cardiff Blues tighthead Dillon Lewis.

Brown had a tough game against Ireland in the World Cup warm-up clash in August when he was yellow-carded for scrummaging offences.

He missed out on Japan but has come on leaps and bounds at the set piece in the current campaign working with coaches Ceri Jones and Olivier Azam, earning a recall for the uncapped November fixture against the Barbarians.

George North moves to centre with Scarlets speedster Johnny McNicholl making his debut on the wing. There is no place in the squad for teenage Gloucester winger Louis Rees-Zammit.

Rhys Webb returns as a replacement – Gareth Davies is not fully fit – while Saracens centre Nick Tompkins will make his Test bow from the bench.

“I’m really happy with the side and really looking forward to this weekend,” said Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

“It is great for Johnny McNicholl to get his first cap, I thought he played really well against the Barbarians so it is a great opportunity for him this weekend.

“George has had a number of games in the midfield for Wales and more recently for the Ospreys and he has been running there in training. We have been impressed with him there and he is excited by the opportunity.

“Nick (Tompkins) has trained really well and has impressed and we are looking forward to seeing him at some stage during the game.

“We’ve had a couple of injuries, Josh Navidi picked up a hamstring injury so he is out for a few weeks, while Liam Williams, Owen Watkin, Gareth Davies and Elliot Dee weren’t quite ready to be available for selection."