Wales scrum-half Ffion Lewis proudly wears her heart on her sleeve and is not afraid to show her true emotions. You need only watch her scoring a try or match-winning celebrations to know that.
But with the ups come the downs, and 25-year-old full-time professional Lewis - who left her job as a PE and Welsh teacher in January to follow her rugby dream - couldn't avoid getting emotional when she looked back to this time last year when she considered walking away from the sport she has loved since the age of six.
Ahead of Wales' Six Nations clash with England this Saturday, Lewis looked back to her last day as a teacher in January before she became a full-time professional Wales player and how she got emotional when reflecting on how she almost gave up rugby this time last year. She was recovering from shoulder surgery and had fallen out of favour with Wales selectors, but has now become a key player who holds a strong presence in Wales' team.
On her last day of teaching at Bishop Hedley High School in Merthyr Tydfil at the turn of 2022, she reflected: "On the back of not being selected for the 2021 Six Nations, I was in a position where I didn't know where I was going to take my rugby, I honestly didn't know whether I was going to continue playing. I was in a difficult place where I'd been knocked down a lot and told I wasn't good enough. The Six Nations took its toll on me. Do I want to keep putting myself through this mentally?"
Luckily the scrum-half, who starts against England as Wales seek a third successive win on Saturday, was brought back from the international wilderness by new head coach Ioan Cunningham last autumn and impressed so much she was awarded a full-time WRU contract, with her school allowing her to take a 12-month sabbatical. So far this tournament, she has made two strong cameos off the bench to help Wales to two bonus-point wins from two, and scored the match-winning try in the 76th minute against Scotland last time out.
Even though she's come so far in just 12 months, 19-cap Lewis is passionate about being open about her journey to try and inspire others not to give up on their dreams, and the tears weren't far away as she reflected during a press conference after Wales announced their team to face the Red Roses.
"I think it's important to get comfortable with showing emotion," she said. "It gives an understanding and a true reflection of your journey. I can't deny, and I want to be open and transparent that it really has been a difficult journey.
"I've been in and out of the programme since I was 16/17 and I'm 25 now. Last year was really difficult. Rugby is something I have never known my life without. I've been playing since I was six. I've kind of planned my life around this badge, whether that be my education or career choices. I've always chosen my life around where can I be that's going to put me in the best position to play for my country and play for my country well.
"So last year when I was in a position where I was without that, I really questioned where do I take this next journey of my life? I felt that rugby and playing for Wales pitched my identity."
The Worcester Warriors half-back turned out for Wales in rugby league and captained the side, a move she credits with rebuilding her confidence, before returning to the Wales union fold six months ago.
"To be in the position now to call this my job, it's a whirlwind. It's been so overwhelming. From Wales v Scotland, seeing my ex-pupils now in the crowd, calling my name, still calling me Miss Lewis, saying they want to grow up and play rugby and play like me, they want to have fixtures in school... that's what's rewarding for me, knowing I've got young girls wanting to play and so passionate about it. It makes this journey worthwhile, I can look back and have little girls inspired to keep picking up that ball. It makes that hard time really worth it."
The Haverfordwest-born international will be supported by her family this weekend, including her champion body-builder brother Flex, as she lines up against the number one ranked side in the world for her first start this campaign.
"Amazing to start but regardless of the number on my back, whether it's No. 9 or 21, I just want to be in the best position I can to perform for my country," she said.
She did exactly that against the Scots, racing over the whitewash after an offload from Alisha Butchers, who made a superb break through the defence. "I feel quite guilty that I'm getting all the credit for it - Alisha did all the hard work, I just had to run and finish it off for her!" Lewis laughs. "Scoring for your country is an honour."
As for this weekend's grudge match against a side who have been professional for three years compared to Wales' four months, Lewis said: "For any Welsh individual, the England game is massive. It's a massive test. A lot of us play with the girls in England, we know their strengths, we know their weaknesses. We want to test ourselves against the best team in the world, they've got a strong pack, quick players in their back-three, a kicking threat, but so have we. We need to take confidence in how our packed have performed, how dynamic and how much fitter we are as a backline and how dangerous we can be.
"We need to focus on starting well, something we haven't done in the last two games. We need to make sure we're concentrating from minute one to 80. I think the score will take care of itself if we stick to our roles and make sure we execute them successfully."
