But after taking over the kicking duties from Steffan Jones, Prydie inspired the Dragons to victory crossing for a 70th minute try that he converted himself from out wide.
A late penalty made it 15 points in total for Prydie with Jones grabbing the other eight in a spectacular Welsh fight back as they ran out 23-14 winners against a side with 13 men away on international duty in Scotland.
And Smith admitted that Prydie's speed on the flanks made the Dragons a more dangerous proposition than earlier in the season, as he helped them to just their fourth win of the campaign.
"The Dragons deserved the win," said the 40-year-old ex-Springbok fly-half, who played for Newport in the late 1990s.
"They outplayed us at the breakdown and held onto the ball better than us.
"They are a different side to a couple of months ago, with Tom Prydie giving them pace out wide, but it was still a game we could have won because when we had the ball we were dangerous."
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