Former Pontypool RFC Prop Graham Price has a place in Welsh rugby history, being part of the ‘Viet Gwent’ Pontypool front row alongside Charlie Faulkner and Bobby Windsor.
Price was born in Egypt, with his father in the services, however he attended West Monmouth Grammar School.
Price recalled the start of his career at Pontypool, “I played three matches for them while I was still in school and the club weren’t doing very well at the time, sitting three from bottom of the Championship. The following year, Ray Prosser’s first in charge we finished rock bottom. However, within two years we won the Championship, without an international player in the team.
“I remember the match announcer who was secretary at the club, Bob Jeffreys. He used to announce at half time if the weather wasn’t very good, that all the people who were standing on the bank could go and sit in the stand, because there weren’t that many people there. Once we started to win games that bank would be packed right up to the tree line.”
On his relationship with Faulkner and Windsor, “We had our little arguments like anyone would, but it was always enjoyable playing together. We were a very compact front row, in fact I was the tallest and I’m only 5’11 an the other two were 5’9, but that helped us get underneath our opponents. Charlie was very competitive, he was a black belt in Judo and that always came in handy!
“We knew each other’s strengths, I think we all could’ve played for Wales sooner. But the way the Welsh selectors were at the time they used to pick the more mobile prop forwards. At the time the Welsh struggled with the scrum, but they seemed to pick players who stood out in the loose, that wasn’t solving the problem.
Over the course of a two-year period me and Charlie were the seventh and eight props to have been picked for Wales.”
Price made his Welsh debut in the Five Nations against France in 1975, scoring a memorable try running from inside his own half to gather a kick. “Everything just clicked in that game, we had six new caps including me and Charlie. Some people would’ve called my try a fluke, but I always worked hard, and I was quite fit, so I like to think I deserved it. I’m glad I made my debut with Charlie and Bobby alongside me, half the Wales pack were Pontypool players.”
On some of his best moments in a Welsh shirt he said, “My first five years were incredible, we won the Five Nations four times, including the Grand Slam twice and the Triple Crown in four consecutive seasons. It was a pleasure to be a part of the golden era of Welsh rugby.”
Price holds the record for the most consecutive Lions test appearances by a prop with 12, coming on the 1977,1980 and 1983 tours.
“1977 was the most memorable for me. When I was young, I used to wake up early hours of the morning and tune into the radio to listen to the match commentary of the Lions.
“I never once dreamt that I would be a British Lion, my ambition was to play for Wales, but once you get in the Welsh team that’s the next thing on the horizon. Being a Lion back then you used to go away for over three months, we wouldn’t just play a few matches either we would play about 24 games.”
The sport didn’t turn professional until 1995, so players had to get time off work to tour. “Luckily on my first Lions tour I was still a student, so it was all my choice really. For my second and third tours I was employed by Cwmbran Fibreglass. They were supportive of me, the company was based up north in St Helens. They allowed me all the time off I needed for rugby, they even paid me every penny I would’ve been paid if I was working.”
Price spoke about Pooler’s current situation, still playing in the Welsh Championship. “It’s very frustrating, if it hadn’t been for COVID they would’ve been promoted the season just gone. They’ve got some big plans, they’re revamping the stand and the facilities at the Park.
“The Jeffreys family have been amazing for the club, Peter has been a Pontypool fan for years. Also, Ben as the CEO is doing a great job running the club as a business and leaving the rugby to the rugby people and it’s worked.”
We also chatted about the current Wales set up and Price had his say on the Head Coach. “I think Wayne Pivac’s been a bit fortunate, the law changes regarding tackling and contact to the head, you would never have had those players sent off previously. If it wasn’t for the red cards, we wouldn’t have won those games. However, he and Stephen Jones have got the back-line firing.
“I’m not so keen on Jonathan Humphreys with the forwards, even when we were playing against packs with seven forwards, we were still coming off worse up front. I feel a bit for Byron (Hayward) when he was made to resign as defence coach, I thought he couldn’t do much as we were so poor in other areas it would just put more pressure on the defence.”
Head injuries seem to be prominent in rugby nowadays, even with the new laws in place. Price recalled back in his days where it was unheard of “I don’t remember ever being concussed in my career, even when I broke my jaw out in Australia.
“A lot of the forwards back then used to be manual workers, like Bobby and Charlie who were both in the Steelworks. I was chatting to the Orthopaedic surgeon at Pontypool recently and he said that the players back in my time were a lot stronger because of their work. Nowadays they’re told to go to the gym and bulk up, I think they look stronger than what they are.”
Picking out some of his toughest opponent’s one sprung to mind immediately. “Gérard Cholley of France. He came out of the army and he was the French army boxing champion. French club rugby back in those days was particularly vicious.
I was watching a clip of him the other day from when he played Scotland, he just laid one guy out. He came round the side of the ruck and just punched him, right in font of the referee. He only gave a penalty, you can’t get away with that now you’d be straight off. I have to say Fran Cotton was a tough player, but I had the pleasure of being his teammate for the Lions.”
In picking out some of his favourite teammates, he was quick to mention the name Moss Kean. “In those days it was a beer culture, you’d play rugby in the afternoon and go out on the beers in the night. He was more like that than anyone, he wouldn’t just go for a pint, he’d go for a gallon. He was always at the centre of the drinking games.”
The former tight head keeps himself busy with After Dinner Speaking and is also an Ambassador and Vice President at SOS Kit Aid. A charity that works with World Rugby to supply kit to countries and areas where they are short of kit. We’ve delivered to places like Samoa and Fiji after they had a Tsunami and lost all they’re stuff. It’s a really good charity.”
by Tobias Hunt
Tobias' Sports Journalism Blog 