United States rugby sevens star Ilona Maher will join Bristol Bears in January for the rest of the English Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) season.
The 28-year-old, who helped lift Team USA to bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, hopes the short-term move will bolster her chances of playing in next year’s 15-a-side Women’s Rugby World Cup, being held in England.
“I am excited to join the Bristol Bears and put myself in the best position to earn a spot to represent the USA in the 2025 Rugby World Cup alongside such a talented and driven group as the Bears,” Maher said in the club announcement.
Maher enjoyed viral fame in the seven-a-side format of the game at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, before becoming a household name in Paris thanks to her achievements on the pitch and her savvy social media presence away from it.
She is the most followed rugby player in the world – female or male – with over seven million followers across her social media platforms. Just last month, she finished as the runner-up in the US version of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ with partner Alan Bersten.
Maher’s three-month contract will begin at the start of 2025, with Bristol’s first game of the new year scheduled to be at home against Gloucester-Hartpury on January 4. It’ll be her first time playing 15s since 2021.
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