Graham Price calls for all-Wales Lions front row (From Penarth Times)

Graham Price calls for all-Wales Lions front row

12:00pm Monday 18th March 2013 in Sport By Chris Kirwan

BRITISH Lions legend Graham Price believes that coach Warren Gatland should plump for an all-Welsh front row after they demolished England on their way to the Six Nations title.

Wing Alex Cuthbert scored two tries and Leigh Halfpenny and Dan Biggar shared 20 points with the boot to deny Stuart Lancaster’s side a Grand Slam at the Millennium Stadium.

Yet the record-breaking win was earned with the grunt up front.

Wales had the nudge throughout at the scrum, even turning down a shot at goal when the game was scoreless to lay down a marker against the English.

Loosehead Gethin Jenkins, hooker Richard Hibbard and tighthead Adam Jones will all, injury permitting, be heading to Australia this summer.

And Price, who won 12 successive Lions caps between 1977 and 1983, believes they deserve to get the nod against the Wallabies in the first Test in Brisbane.

“Wales won the bragging rights in the scrum against England and Gatland should pick the Welsh front row in the Test side this summer,” said the former star.

“They set the tone for the performance, the win all started with how they put the English under pressure at the set piece. It was a superb performance and they won nearly every scrum.

“Adam Jones was tremendous and showed how valuable he is to Wales,” continued Price. “He was injured in the autumn and his reputation was enhanced by how things went without him.”

Price, who won two Grand Slams with the great Wales side of the 1970s, was full of praise for Rob Howley’s side for fighting back from a disastrous start to the campaign.

“They picked themselves up brilliantly from the Ireland game and deserve great credit for that,” he said, referring to the opening day defeat when Wales trailed 30-3 after 42 minutes.

“Although I am sure there is a small bit of regret and they will wonder what they could have achieved if they had turned up in the first half of that loss.

“But we haven’t seen a Welsh team as focused as they were against England since they won the Grand Slam in 2012 and it was great to see.”