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Jess Kavanagh-Williams is not your average Welsh international rugby player.

If caps were handed out for commitment to the cause, the 27-year-old would be right up there with her male counterpart and 129-times capped Welsh front-rower Gethin Jenkins.

But not even the Lions loosehead had to make a six-hour 300-mile round trip just to get to training every week.

"I get told I'm mad for doing it all. Weekly, if not daily. Everyone asks me how I cope," she says.

But then again, for Kavanagh-Williams, it comes with the territory.

She's a relative newcomer to the international set-up, but is nevertheless being tipped to shine at the upcoming Six Nations, following several impressive showings on the ever-growing international stage.

However, the winger's sparkling performances on the pitch are balanced by a gruelling and demanding life off it.

Kavanagh-Williams, who lives in a farmhouse with her husband in Gellilydan, Maentwrog, faces an incredible six-hour round trip just to turn up train with her team-mates, doing so up to three times a week.

(Image: Huw Evans Agency)

Every Wednesday, after completing a half-day at work, Jess and team-mate Gwenllian Pyrs, who hails from Ysbyty Ifan and herself has five international caps, hit the road at around 1.30 in the afternoon.

First port of call is Dolgellau, 16 miles to the south, where she meets up with international rookie Teleri Davies.

From there, it's time for coffee at the local Holt garage (takeaway of course, as there's no time to lose), and then it's on to the Vale Resort for a 5.45pm arrival, ahead of training at 6pm.

It means that before she's even started a gruelling three-hour session she's already clocked up 146 miles, although she at least gets the chance to sit down for some dinner.

But there's otherwise little time to relax, as she then hits the road that same evening, eventually returning home at around 1am before getting up for work the following morning.

The weekends are arguably just as demanding.

Saturday morning training starts at 9am, meaning Jess has to undergo the same routine at the brutally anti-social hour of 4.30am, although she at least gets to enjoy a more leisurely post-match meal with her team-mates (paella, stir fry and pulled pork wraps are particular favourites), and then stays over until the Sunday, hitting the road again the following day and returning home for around 6 or 7pm.

It all amounts to a routine that makes many of her peers wince, but the pride of pulling on the jersey of her country, as well as a brimming passion for the game, makes it all worth the effort.

(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)

"Of course there's been times when I've been sat in the car after four hours and not really fancied it. But when you get out and you train you realise just how special it is.

"Obviously I enjoy rugby anyway, but to pull the Welsh shirt on, sing the anthem in front of your friends and family, nothing beats it. It's just amazing, the feeling that you get from it and the passion I've got for the game can't really be explained."

The women's game has made tremendous progress in recent years, with the summer World Cup noticeably capturing attention of the Welsh public, and it has clearly left a mark on the player herself, despite a series of difficult results.

"Playing in a World Cup was probably one of the biggest things I'm going to do in my career and in my life,"she adds.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

"It was obviously a tough campaign and we came up against some of the best teams in the world. Coming up against Canada was perhaps one of the most difficult experiences.

"But we managed to catch the attention of the public and coverage of the World Cup was superb.

"Women's rugby is one of the fastest-growing sports at the moment and by having more coverage it helps to increase interest, which means there is more support for the game, allowing it to be brought forward quicker and to make it better.

"There's a massive difference for young girls wanting to get into rugby nowadays when compared to how it was when I was doing it.

"They've got support from across the clubs up here from junior level all the way to under-18s and seniors. I didn't have any of that.

"When I was that age there was nothing like that."

(Image: Chris Wright/ Omega Photography)

The progress seen in women's rugby has arguably coincided with a heightened interest in the oval ball across North Wales, with the rise of Principality Premiership upstarts RGC 1404 in the men's game causing some to tout them as a potential addition to the professional regional set-up.

It's quite a change of landscape in a region traditionally viewed as a footballing hotbed. Indeed, Kavanagh-Williams herself started her sporting career as a bright young footballer, but soon found the pull of rugby too great to ignore.

"I played in a boys football team when I was in school and then I was picked up by North Wales Football and then I played football for Wales until under-17 level, but I switched sports because there weren't any teams around in North Wales at the time.

"So I started playing rugby, and after a while I began to find it more interesting than football. On top of that, the more I played, the more people said 'Oh you've got talent', but because women's rugby wasn't that big when I was just starting out I was keen to push myself to the top, and I'm happy to be playing at the top with Wales."

However, playing at the top of the women's game brings about a unique set of challenges for Kavanagh-Williams, who still has time to offer a helping hand to the next generation of stars.

Sharing the commute with development squad member Teleri Davies and 20-year-old Gwenllian Pyrs is a testament not only to her genuine love of rugby, but also a passion for nurturing the next wave of talented sportswomen.

When she's not the playing the game she loves, Jess works as part of the Gwynedd Sports for Life Team, which aims to get children to see the benefits of taking part in sport.

"I cover Dwyfor as a patch. So I go into the clubs, I help them by working with junior sections. I go into schools, promoting sports and organising events aimed at at getting kids hooked on sports for life.

"I get to work in the morning and I look forward to it every day because there's always something different.

(Image: Huw Evans Agency)

"One day I can be at a golf club promoting golf, getting kids into it and then the following day I could be doing something totally different like rowing, kayaking or athletics.

"There's always a focus on different sports and that's what I really like about my job. It's never the same day in day out."

But while the job satisfies her love of sport, it's a role that doesn't stop - not even in the middle of a Six Nations campaign.

"I wish playing for Wales could just take over and allow me to concentrate on playing for Wales at the Six Nations. But I have to be realistic. It's not real life. I've got a full-time job and I still have to concentrate on my work because it's what I'll have when rugby won't be there for me.

"My employers have always been supportive of my ambitions and aspirations to play for Wales and come to support regularly.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

"But I've still got to be working during the campiagn. It's not going to go away so we have to be realistic about how I'm going to earn a living. I can't switch off during the campaign because that means there isn't any money coming in."

So, how does she balance it all?

"It's easier for me as I plan my week well in advance", she explains. "I know who I'm seeing by the end of the week. I've got a plan to see friends. To see family. To fit work around and fit in my gym sessions. So I like to organise a week ahead and it seems to help."

In terms of training, a typical week will usually see her play for her club or region on the Sunday, meaning Monday is often a rest day (although she does sometimes carry out a mobility session).

Tuesday, it's time for a hydrotherapy gym session, while the following day sees her travel down to the Cardiff to meet up with the rest of the Wales squad on that monstrous commute.

Thursday, it's back to the gym, although there's also a chance to train with her club, before another hydrotherapy gym session on the Friday, and another session with the Wales squad on the Saturday.

To put all that on top of a day job and the other day-to-day demands of her personal life, not to mention the gargantuan journey to the Vale, really serves as an indicator as to how much it means to pull on the jersey.

If Jessica Kavanagh-Williams isn't the most committed player in Wales right now, she's pretty damn close.