The superstar American could play for Bristol Bears in early January if picked.
Ilona Maher has set Premiership Women’s Rugby ablaze with her signing for Bristol Bears.
She signed in early December but has confirmed she will not play her first game for the club until the new year. Bristol’s first game in 2025 is against Gloucester-Hartpury on 5 January.
The demand for tickets in case the game was Maher’s first match means it has been moved from Shaftsbury Park to Ashton Gate. The club have already sold a record amount of tickets for a Bristol women’s game for the fixture.
However, Maher may not make her debut at the game. Bristol head coach Dave Ward has said he won’t rush her onto the pitch, Maher has not played rugby since the 2024 Paris Games. She also hasn’t played 15s since 2021.
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Maher herself also cast doubt over whether she would play the game. “I want to make this clear, that potentially could be my debut but as we know rugby is a very tough sport.
“For the past few months I have just been dancing. I haven’t taken the contact, I haven’t run at full speed. So I am going to try and prep my body and make it for that game but I can’t promise anything.”
If she doesn’t make her debut against Gloucester, her next opportunity is the following weekend against Exeter. Bristol’s next fixture after that is against Leicester Tigers on 18 January.
Ilona Maher: Why did she move to Bristol?
Ilona Maher has signed for Bristol Bears ahead of the 2025 WRWC (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Maher won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first US team to medal in sevens.
She then took part in Dancing with the Stars, placing second alongside partner Alan Bersten. A lot of supporters – she has over 4.5 million Instagram followers – were wondering what her next move would be. One rumour was she was going to be on the next season of the Bachelor.
Instead she signed for PWR team Bristol. Maher said she has done so in a bid to be a part of the 2025 Rugby World Cup team. It it set to be a record-breaking tournament.
Maher is the most followed rugby player on the planet and her affect at Bristol is already showing. The club have thousands of new followers and are selling more tickets since the announcement.
The PWR season finishes in March, a shortened season this campaign because of the Rugby World Cup. Maher’s Bristol contract runs until the end of the season.
While she has said she will return to sevens, she teased in an interview with the Guardian that she may stay in 15s beyond 2025.
She said: “I think it is to see how it goes right now. Who knows how this goes? What other opportunities pop up?”
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