Ilona Maher celebrates Olympic bronze following victory over Australia
Olympic sevens superstar Ilona Maher is set for a blockbuster switch to England, with reports suggesting multiple Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) clubs are in the hunt for her signature.
Maher is the most followed rugby player on the planet on social media, with over four million Instagram followers, and is currently competing on Dancing with the Stars in the USA.
According to the Telegraph, the sevens star is being sounded out by Bristol Bears over a potential move, with the West Country outfit understood to have been in contact. Local rivals, and back-to-back PWR champions, Gloucester-Hartpury are also a possible destination for Maher.
Maher rose to fame during this summer’s Olympic games, where she played a crucial role in guiding the USA sevens side to a bronze medal in Paris.
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This has helped her become one of rugby’s global megastars, and she quickly became the most followed rugby player on the planet as a result. Alongside her four million Instagram followers, she has also acquired 2.8 million followers on TikTok at the time of writing.
A move to bring Maher over to the PWR would be a huge boost not only for the league itself but also for the Women’s game in England ahead of the World Cup next year.
Whilst she has been a mainstay in the US sevens squad in the past few seasons, she hasn’t been as active in the XVs side for a while. The 28-year-old made her USA Eagles debut back in 2021 and only has two XVs caps to her name currently.
Therefore, a move to the PWR could be a clever way of getting her back playing XVs with an aim to potentially play at the World Cup next year. She wouldn’t be the first USA star to play in the England either, with current captain Kate Zackary plying her trade at Ealing Trailfinders.
Maher would also join fellow Olympians Ellie Kildunne and Meg Jones in the league if she made the switch, with the Red Roses representing Great Britain in the Games earlier this year.
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The donation comes following the women’s team claiming Olympic Bronze.
USA star Ilona Maher has quickly become an important figure in the sport.
Ilona Maher is now the most followed active rugby player on Instagram.
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