 Along with Wilson Whineray he declined to attend the matches of the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand.Graham has also criticised the presence of advertising on the All Black jersey; "I may be a dinosaur in this respect, but I don't think anything should go on the All Black jersey other than the silver fern".Graham believed New Zealanders focus excessively on the sport of rugby, stating, "I don't think rugby union is anywhere near as important in this country as solving the problems of poverty and unemployment.