www.thesecretlifeofarugbywife.com/part-12/ Sophie gives a good insight here into what we wouldn't normally know about our players, good to hear he's on the mend.

www.thesecretlifeofarugbywife.com/part-12/ Sophie gives a good insight here into what we wouldn't normally know about our players, good to hear he's on the mend.

An admirably frank insight. I wish Sophie and Kallum all the very best. I also dare to hope that the keyboard assassins have pause for thought. No one should have to put up with personal abuse from people who know nothing about them, other than that they play sport for a living.

They deserve a lot of respect for opening up about this and Stevie ward's mantality work.

I've suspected for a while this was the case, but I think he's got his head on right this season, he's gradually becoming one of the leaders in the side.

It seems to me that they are both blessed to have each other. I hope that they continue to work through their issues with the help of their family, friends & not least the club.
Good on Stevie Ward & Adam Cuthbertson especially.

Think Stevie Wards work on depression has been outstanding. Its great that depression is being addresed.

Wow - what a humbling and brave account of what Watkins and his family have had to endure. Definitely gives you a lot to think about in your own life

Strange that in his worst year off the pitch (2015) he was playing his best stuff on the pitch

The dogs abuse that all the players and staff get is absolutley disgraceful, whether they've performed to the perfect standards that so called supporters demand. They are human beings first and foremost. To err is to be human.

refs get even more abuse and don't have the support structures around them. No surprise so many leave the job.

I'd be interested to know if the incidence of depression is the same in pro sports people as the general population and also if there are any differences in different sports. There are many more pro footballers than rugby players yet you rarely hear of any suffering from depression.

Maybe the physical toil it puts on players compared to football is different also a long term injury like Ward's can be significant to his earnings compared to footballers who make silly money even if they aren't that good.

Wrt referees the ones who have quit recently have blamed the Ref department setup than any abuse they get from the sidelines which I imagine they expect and brush off.

The top players in the PL are all very good players - they can be made to look ordinary by exceptional players but the overseas players are technically superb. British players on the whole are pretty poor by comparison and it shows when England get to a major competition and why so few ever wanted by European clubs. There does appear to be premium for British players in the PL why who knows.

Whether it's the cack handed approach of the ref department or the abuse they receive from fans. We need to bare in mind that with out the ref there is no game! Also, the smaller the pool of talent the worse the standard of reffing will be overall.

Yes they deserved it.

To who asked a few weeks ago whether you are a professional sports person or a 'normal person' or what sort of sport you do if you are a professional sports person makes no difference to 'how likely' you are to get depression. One of the main issues with football is that the atmosphere and environment of 'being a man' is inherent from youth teams upwards so although there will likely be dozens of premier league players with depression or other mental health issues, people won't admit to it due to the reasons previously / ongoingly stated why no professional male players in Britain have come out as being gay despite it being almost a statistical miracle that they would all be straight.