Sioned Harries: Wales' Rugby World Cup back row says she suffered from depression

Sioned Harries drives at the Scottish defence during Wales' opening victory at the World Cup

Back row Sioned Harries says she suffered from depression during her long spell outside the Wales squad.

Harries, 32, has started all of Wales' games at the World Cup in New Zealand, with the side qualifying to face the Black Ferns in the quarter-finals.

She was recalled to the national set-up by coach Ioan Cunningham in 2022 having been in international exile since 2019.

"I went through a period of depression when I was dropped from the squad," Harries said.

"A lot of it was to do with just identity and a lack of support, more than anything."

Aberystwyth-born Harries, one of the senior figures in Cunningham's squad, is at her fourth World Cup.

She started the win over Scotland and defeat against New Zealand, when she crossed for a try.

Harries won her 68th cap when Wales faced Australia in their final pool game, with a losing bonus point proving enough for Cunningham's side to advance to the quarter-finals.

Harries re-established herself on the international stage during the 2022 Six Nations after a spell in the wilderness which raised eyebrows given that she had been a key player for Wales during Rowland Phillips' time in charge.

She says she her mental health is "a lot better" now than it was but admits "some days are harder than others".

Harries believes there was a lack of support from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) at the time, but says that is no longer the case.

"I'll be completely honest, the union was in disarray, there was no support for women," she said.

"I found it really difficult but I was really fortunate I still had people in the squad that could see what was happening and were very supportive towards me.

"My partner at the time was very supportive and just, you know, I brought friends closer, I brought my family closer."

The WRU says it has made strides to turn the Wales women's set-up into a world-class programme since Nigel Walker was named performance director in 2021.

Professional contracts were handed out to female Welsh players for the first time in January 2022 with more following in July, while additional staff - including a performance psychologist - have been appointed.

"Today things are a lot better," Harries added. "Now we have a psychologist in the squad and she's been brilliant. She's been a real shoulder to everyone.

"I believe by looking at the girls you can see around the squad that having a psychologist has made a world of difference, just for our confidence and for our self-esteem and self-respect, really.

"The other day I was speaking to one of the girls and she said how hard it is to be here [at the World Cup] because everything is so up and down as the weeks go by and as the results go by.

"But I said to her, you probably [came to the] hardest World Cup because this is the furthest you can be from your family and if you can deal with this you can deal with any other World Cups.

"It's important that us girls are also supporting each other, and we are, we're a close group."