Stevie Ward interview: Former Leeds Rhinos captain speaks out on mental health and leaving rugby league

But the sport also brought Stevie many difficult times, including physical injuries on the pitch and battles with mental health. His injuries are what led him to retire – the second row forward led his team to the first game of the 2020 Super League in February. He never returned to the pitch after having another serious concussion while playing.

Looking back, the former captain said he always knew he would go far in sports even as a kid, but “didn’t know it was going to hurt as much”. He began playing rugby at the age of six and by the age of 12, he had scored himself a Leeds Rhinos scholarship.

In 2012, after another six years of practicing tirelessly, Stevie made his debut appearance. The match against St Helens, which featured all of the team with freshly-dyed red hair in the name of Sports Relief, was a difficult one.

He said: “I played for about 25 minutes at the end of the game, coming onto a game that we'd already lost. But I was playing for the Rhinos – it was my first team game.

"It was a surreal experience under the Friday night lights, with Sky TV cameras. I just went out there and gave it my all and tried to affect the game a little bit.”

The sport made Stevie feel “safe and seen on the rugby field” and it’s why he could not stop despite his injuries. The 29-year-old said: “It just became me and I had to really separate the role and me. It was just an absolute joy.”

A serious knee injury in 2015 kept the Morley-born player off the field for a year and Stevie began struggling with depression. He said: “I had many injuries at this point. I had many highs and also many lows.

"Half the time, I was playing and winning, celebrating and pushing myself. The other half, I was trying to get back to walking or to use my arm because I had shoulder dislocation and nerve damage. I remember feeling all these emotions and really no capability and understanding of what was going on.”

The next year, Stevie launched Mantality, an online website promoting mental health for men through counselling, life-coaching services and a stigma-breaking podcast, without much expectation.

“It was an inquiry to say ‘why do we not speak about mental health and show that there’s more to it?’ because we never pay any attention to it,” Stevie said. “Mantality is helping the everyday male become the best version of themselves and using their mental health as the first point of address.”

One article he wrote mentioned his anxiety and depression, and Stevie included it in a game day programme for other players and for the public to read, despite being riddled with fear and doubt. He said: “I also remember the excitement I had going into that and the reception I got was incredible, in terms of people connecting with me and saying that they felt the same.

"I understood that there’s more of an impact you can make – not just on the pitch. Mantality was born out of that and it has continued.”

Since announcing his departure with the sport in 2021, Stevie has invested much of his time to also being a keynote speaker in performance and wellbeing for sports teams and companies.

Stevie said: “I think having the brain injuries and retiring from the game, I was sort of a bit of a loss for how to go forward. I remember feeling a lot anxiety and confusion and I really just couldn't relax – I felt like the need to to be doing something.

“And it took me a while to realise that I needed to sort of reconnect with that emotion or that part myself that was curious and the part of myself that wanted to play and have fun. In doing that, my mental health is just gone through the roof and I just feel like a real, full human being, despite the migraines and dizziness. I feel content in life now.”

Stevie will be taking part in a sports injury exhibition, talking about its impact and how injuries are treated, with Thackray Medical Museum in August.