Graham Price MBE (born 24 November 1951 in Moascar, Egypt) is a former Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, who was a member of the famous Pontypool RFC front row known as the "Viet Gwent". He won 41 caps for , and a record 12 for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

forward.

Early life

Graham Price was born in Moascar, Egypt, on 24 November 1951. He was brought up in

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

, where he was educated at

West Monmouth School West Monmouth School (Welsh: ''Ysgol Gorllewin Mynwy''; colloquially: West Mon) is a state-funded and non-selective secondary school in Pontypool, Torfaen, south Wales. Admissions Pupils who attend the school generally live in the Torfaen area. ...

. He studied civil engineering at UWIST, part of the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Rugby career

Pontypool

He joined

after leaving school, and played at tight-head prop. With

Bobby Windsor Robert William Windsor (born 31 January 1948 in Newport, Monmouthshire), known as Bobby and nicknamed "The Duke", is a former rugby union player who gained 28 rugby union caps for Wales as a hooker between 1973 and 1979. Windsor published his a ...

and Charlie Faulkner he became part of the legendary front row, also known as the "Viet Gwent" (a play on

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

) and immortalised in song by Max Boyce. Price played 567 times for the club scoring 57 tries.

Wales caps

He made his debut for

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

in the 1975 Five Nations Championship against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

in Paris. The game featured six players earning their first cap, and the entire Pontypool front line. When the ball was hacked forward some from the French line following a Welsh counter attack, Price caught the ball as it bounced and ran it in for a try. Wales won by 25–10, their biggest victory over the French since 1909, and the try was subsequently voted the fourth best try ever by a Welsh player. The BBC’s commentator of the match Nigel Starmer-Smith memorably said of Price’s try at the time ‘They will never believe it in Pontypool’. Grand Slams followed for the Wales team in 1976 and 1978.

British and Irish Lion

Price played as a prop in a record 12 successive tests for the

, touring New Zealand in 1977. The front line in that tour was dominated by the "Viet Gwent" players, including Price. During a test match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, he suffered a broken jaw after a punch by Steve Finnane. Price had to eat liquidised food for six weeks, and wore dentures for the following 40 years until replaced by implants in 2015. He returned for the South Africa in 1980 and made his final international appearances in the New Zealand in 1983 at the age of 31. He had played in every test match of all three tours. His record of 12 appearances for a prop for the British and Irish Lions is not expected to be broken.

Outside rugby

In 2012 Price made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK comedy drama '' Stella''.

Recognition

Price was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2007 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

for services to rugby union in Wales.United Kingdom list: