Graham Price: rugby legend. The most capped Welsh player in British and Irish Lions’ history. Price’s blistering pace, tenacity and flair helped earn him a fearsome reputation as part of the formidable ‘Viet Gwent’ – the all-Pontypool front row that played for Wales and the Lions. With teammates Bobby Windsor and Charlie Faulkner, he was pitted against some of the best players in the world.
And now Graham is teaming up with the new Chevrolet Cruze. The mighty twosome came together for a driving tour of some evocative South Wales landmarks, proving that when it comes to rugby and motoring, both break the rules. Graham swings the spacious Cruze by Blaenavon’s Big Pit colliery-now one of Britain’s leading mining museums and a World Heritage Site - where many people from the area once worked. It’s a place he likes to drive to when he wants to escape.
“I had knee surgery last summer,” he says as he steps out of the Cruze with ease. “Having leg-space is important as I have to be careful now.” As his eyes scan the historic colliery, his mind slips back to the past and he considers how it felt to play for his country.
“I’d always dreamt of it,” says Graham. “I can remember as a kid, listening to the radio and hearing my heroes playing internationally. And then to be elevated to that after all my hard work…it was such a privilege.” And combining a fulltime job with a successful amateur rugby career required hard work in spades. Pulling up outside Pontypool Park – the ground where he spent his club playing days – he recalls his early years in the game.
“When I was a boy playing for the local grammar school, I played for the age group above,” says Graham. “I would play wherever they had space for me.”
But it wasn’t long before he slotted into his natural position as a prop. It was a role in which he shone. “In those days, you didn’t get props with the ability to sprint, handle and tackle and things like that, like I did,” he explains.
Price believed in breaking the rules as a player, just as the Cruze challenges the accepted thinking that if you pay less, you get less. And with features such as cruise control, six airbags and electronic stability control there is little doubt that buying a Chevrolet Cruze gets you a whole lot more for your money.
Cruze gives you a whole lot more for your money.
“I look for reliability in a car,” says Graham. “I want it to start every time and stop when I put my foot on the brakes. It’s like my philosophy of rugby – if I do my job properly, then everyone else can do theirs.” And what of the future for Welsh rugby – is it looking bright? Graham picks out a few unsung heroes. “Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones and Matthew Rhys are the ones to watch. They’re the guys who tend to do things that don’t really get noticed until they’re not there.”
