Ilona Maher, rugby’s biggest social media star, signs for Bristol in bid to make World Cup
The 28-year-old, who helped the US win their first Olympic medal in Rugby 7s in Paris, will join the English club for 3 months to play 15s
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher will join 15-a-side club Bristol Bears in January in a bid to play in next year’s women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday.
Maher, a prop in sevens, helped the United States clinch the Rugby Sevens bronze medal – their first – at the Paris Games after defeating Australia.
The 28-year-old is the most popular rugby player on social media with a following of 4.6 million on Instagram and 3.3 million on TikTok.
Earlier in the year, she played for the first time at the Hong Kong Sevens, where she shared everything about the city on social media.
“This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said.
