In October 1980 Newport played New Zealand and the match programme contained the following article by Brian regarding a tour to Australasia in 1969:-
"Mission Impossible"
"Wales Tour to Australasia 1969"
"By Brian Price, Newport-Wales-British Lions"
"Personally, this was a fantastic season - despite the results in New Zealand! I had just recovered from a cartilage operation, became captain of the club for the second time and winning the Welsh unofficial championship (losing only four games). I was also picked to captain Wales and we became Triple Crown Winners and European champions but narrowly missed the Grand Slam by drawing with France in Paris."
"After all this success I was invited to lead the Welsh side to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. Going there as European champions was something I was proud of, plus the fact that I wanted to win in New Zealand after being white-washed in the 1966 Lion series out there. So what went wrong?"
"No-one could blame the selectors because we had a tremendous squad of players, many of whom were to become world famous in the 70's - just read through the impressive list of players - J.P.R., Gerald Davies, John Dawes, Barry John, Phil Bennett, Gareth Edwards and Mervyn Davies. Six of those players have since captained Wales. No, it wasn't the lack of talent which was to blame for our defeat, but what certainly didn't help was the itinerary we had to accept. One kind Kiwi called the whole trip 'MISSION IMPOSSIBLE', and of course that is how the New Zealand part of the tour turned out. Could any side have done any better if they were made to follow our first week? Just judge for yourself. First there was the fifty-two hour plane journey, with no soft stop-over in Hong Kong or the States. Then just four days later we were playing Taranaki, and that was after surviving an earthquake on our first night in New Plymouth - four days later we played the 1st Test."
"It was a great credit to Clive Rowlands as coach and to the players themselves that we were able to train so soon. In fact it was the players who suggested that we have a training session on the Saturday, which was the day after we arrived, instead of making it a rest day."
"Although our record was poor against New Zealand on that tour, and no-one can dispute that, the results in the provincial matches were better than those achieved with the 1966 Lions."
"The value of this tour, as with the 1964 tour to South Africa, was not seen in the results of those matches but in the seasons following the tours."
"Enough about the statistics of our journey, what about the people we met and the places we visited. The repercussions of this aspect of the tour are still with me. Which of the players has forgotten the day out in Auckland Harbour eating grilled fish and drinking milk! It was, after all, a day before a game."
"The liaison officers appointed by the New Zealand Rugby Union did a fantastic job of public relations work, none better than 'Snow' White of Auckland - who keeps flying over to visit us almost every year. It would be impossible to list the places or to mention all the people we met during our short stay. But I am sure that I speak for all the players and the Welsh supporters' party who accompanied us that we would go through all the agony of travelling and face the formidable All Blacks once again if we could relive those days."