Sioned Harries: Wales forward happy 'beyond words' with international return
- Published
Sioned Harries came on as a second half replacement for Wales in their friendly against USA Falcons
Wales forward Sioned Harries says she is happy "beyond words" having returned from the international wilderness.
Harries played her first international in over two years in Wales' 31-23 Six Nations warm-up defeat by USA Falcons.
The 32-year-old back rower is now eyeing a spot in Ioan Cunningham's squad, with Wales opening their tournament out in Ireland on 26 March.
"It's everything. I've been battling for it for three years, so it would mean the world," said Harries.
Harries won the last of her 58 caps in the 2019 autumn internationals.
Her omission from the 2020 and 2021 Wales squads raised a few eyebrows as she had been a key player under former head coach Rowland Phillips, as had his daughter Carys, who made a spectacular return to Test rugby in the 2021 autumn series, scoring a hat-trick against South Africa.
Like Phillips, Harries plays for Worcester Warriors in the Premier 15s, and has become a familiar face working as a television and radio rugby pundit.
Harries was a half-time replacement in Llanelli on Saturday and made an instant impact from number eight, a position which has been occupied by the talismanic skipper Siwan Lillicrap for the last few years.
"It's been a hard three years and just to be able to come out and play for Wales in my home region in front of my parents, it's been great," Harries told BBC Sport Wales.
"I'm happy, I know I've got more to give though.
"I just wanted to give a good account of myself and I just hope that I've done enough to be able to show more in the coming weeks.
"The conversations have always been positive with Ioan, obviously it was a matter of transition, bringing me back into the environment.
"He's been really good, he's been really supportive.
"The girls have been great as well, so I can't fault it."
Harries has played in three Rugby World Cups and has previously spoken of her dream to play in a fourth, which will take place in New Zealand this October.