Brown was reputed to be an extremely tough and physical forward player,[3] which was reflected in his manual occupation as a coal trimmer at Cardiff Docks.

[6] In late 1905, Brown was part of the Cardiff team to face the Original All Blacks, his first encounter with international opposition.

Brown was a surprise choice and joined the team along with Cardiff teammates George Northmore, Bert Winfield, Rhys Gabe and Billy O'Neill.

The game was one of the highlights of the tour, with many of the Cardiff players having been humiliated by the South Africans in the Wales defeat, playing for pride.

[10] By the time Brown left Cardiff in 1910, he had played with the club for ten seasons, appeared in 221 matches and scored 12 tries.

After the opening game, Brown kept his place in the national team for the rest of the tournament, which saw the Welsh finish second behind Scotland.