Ilona Maher: 'People call me a superstar of rugby... We can’t just have one'

Ilona Maher hopes she can inspire and elevate more players to superstar status in women’s rugby.

Olympic sevens bronze medallist Maher announced her arrival in English rugby by helping Bristol Bears generate a club-record crowd for a women’s game of just over 9,000 at Ashton Gate.

Her eagerly anticipated debut against Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartpury attracted fans from Kentucky and Washington DC, while Maher spent more than an hour after the game signing autographs and posing for pictures.

With more than eight million followers across Instagram and TikTok, 28-year-old American back Maher is the world’s most followed rugby player on social media.

She will undoubtedly make a major impact during her three-month stay with Bristol, then potentially the England-hosted Women’s World Cup later this year when Maher hopes to be part of the United States squad.

Her commitment to the sport, enthusiasm for it and engagement with supporters makes her a box-office ticket.

“I love being a superstar,” she said. “People call me a superstar of rugby, but that’s not enough for the sport.

“We can’t just have one superstar, we need to have more, we need to have people connecting with so many different players, and that is what will grow our game.

“Right now, it seems to be ‘Oh, it’s Ilona Maher, we’ve got to get her in this, this and this’. That’s where I want to bring these team-mates up.

“I am always trying to get my team-mates from the US sevens up. During the Olympics, so many of them put media out there and grew their following.

“I have seen the power in it, I’ve seen the power of people connecting with the individual and then going to a sport.

“People connect with (American basketball player) Caitlin Clark and go and see a game, and that brings more fans in.

“If we can have more people connect with (Bristol team-mates) Holly Aitchison, Jaz Joyce, Evie Gallagher, that brings them in, that brings fans in, so that is my goal.

“It is cool to be the face of a sport that isn’t thought of as a woman’s sport.

“The impact I am having is felt across men’s and women’s, and I’ve had some of the best men’s players in the world be, like, ‘keep doing what you’re doing’.

“I think everyone sees the value in it. If one rises, we all rise.

“So I am really proud of what I have done and the impact I am having on social media, not just in a rugby sense but in a body positivity sense, the way people are treating themselves.”

On the pitch, Maher’s focus will be to drive a play-off push for Bristol after a 40-17 loss against Gloucester-Hartpury left them seven points adrift of the top four.

They visit Exeter on Sunday, before returning to Ashton Gate – and another likely bumper attendance – for an appointment with Leicester on January 18.

Reflecting on a 20-minute Bears bow off the bench, Maher said: “For me, I was just trying to watch and understand.

“I think each game I am going to learn more and more, and you do learn a lot by losing, but also it puts a fire under you for the next game.”