Ilona Maher: Bristol Bears' USA superstar opens up on breaking rugby stereotypes to grow the PWR
Yesterday at 07:42 AM
By Bethan Croft and Jordan Renwick
Having stormed across the pitch (and TikTok For You Pages) globally, become a household name and the most followed rugby player in the world, Ilona Maher, is making the most of her time in the PWR. But she's also been clear on setting boundaries for herself, as she opened up in a recent press conference held by Bristol Bears.
Since she arrived in England for her PWR debut, Maher has been collecting headlines. For her groundbreaking work on body positivity in the world of sports and otherwise, second only to her talent on the pitch. But the pressure put onto the American is mounting and, as is a rising trend within Gen Z, she's setting boundaries for herself at work.
"It is overwhelming… they're like, 'we've got to squeeze every last thing we can out of this one rugby girl' and it can be a lot."
Despite her wanting to give as much as she can to the sport she loves, she feels as though she may often give a bit too much of herself. She added that she needs to find that "balance" and is finding time to take care of herself, her body, and her mental health,"I think I’m doing a lot and I’ll continue to do it."
Maher's reach spans almost five million followers on Instagram alone. She has brought attention to the PWR to every corner of the world, with her fans following her wherever she goes. Her dedication to spreading the love of her sport continues but she has made it clear that its growth is not solely on her. "I owe no allegiance to the PWR, I've started something, but they can take what I've done and make something bigger."
Urging any player to show their personalities online – she quite literally is the poster child for that strategy's success – she said, "I’m honoured to be that superstar rugby player, but it’s not enough for it just to be me, we need more to make it even bigger."
She mentioned that as women, "we have to do more off the field" in comparison to men to get recognised. Believing that this is a culture that needs to change, she said, "More women need to use this [social media] as an opportunity to get themselves out there."
The Vermont-native said she'd love to see some of the male players put themselves out there more as well, passionately adding, "that's our job to get more people in."
She was also quick to point out that she may be known as the funny girl from TikTok, but all of her new Bears teammates have the potential to do exactly the same, and generate a presence on social media. In training she said, "these girls are making me belly laugh all the time." She's calling for a culture shift in rugby to allow for its evolution and credited this alliance in beliefs to her choice to sign with Bristol Bears, saying they understand the need for social media in the sport's growth.
Having started posting almost five years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic, and amassing millions of likes, Maher is not unaware of the commitment posting your life online can be. "It’s a vulnerable thing to share these moments, to share your bad body days, or to share the moments when you’re crying because you’re getting hate online." But the need for online reach in the age of social media is more than apparent, "it's how you get connections from people."
Fans are desperate to catch a glimpse of her on the Bears' TikTok, comments flood into every one asking 'where's Ilona??', 'Is that Ilona in the background??' Maher is aware of the want for content though, "I haven’t made many TikToks with my teammates yet," though a smile spreads onto her face as she taps a finger to her head, " I have got a lot of ideas I’m cooking up here."
She knows she can get people to the pitch with her name alone, but she wants to keep them coming back. In her first start since arriving in the UK, Maher scored an impressive try against Exeter Chiefs, solidifying herself as not just a personality, but a player worth watching.
On the game she said, "I was tired!" Compared with the two seven-minute halves of a rugby sevens game, to the two rounds of 40-minutes that kept Maher on her feet. She joked, "It’s my first time back since dancing around a ballroom."
Though the intense dancing training, which secured her second place in the 2024 season of American competition show, Dancing With The Stars, hasn't changed her game as she added, "I'm not going to go around with fancy feet, I'm going to go through you." However, it hasn't been so easy for Maher to "go through" all of her defenders, Claudia McDonald in particular, "she put her body on the line… she's a world class player."
Known for her unapologetic stance on individuality, and evolution of archaic societal expectations women are held to, Maher reiterated, "we have got to stop putting these female athletes in a box, we're so much more than what the stereotypes are." She said that there was a time in college where she found athletes wearing a full face of makeup strange but then realised, "no, that made her feel good, maybe made her play better! Because a little foundation isn't going to stop you from being great athletes."
On top of this, she said she doesn't want to be known for being "famous", she wants to be known for her talent and as someone who her teammates know is there to help. Being a part of a team, and the Bristol Bears especially, is one of her biggest motivators for playing – "I play for my teammates." After games, she has spent a lot of time with fans because she wants to show "I'm a real person, that person they see online."
Since bringing her positivity and sheer power on the pitch across the pond, Maher is immersing herself into British culture, saying "this is the right place for me." Whilst she couldn't believe "how cold it can get here", she did list her favourite things so far – starting off with, "well, I love sausage rolls. I love a flat white, and I love a roast." One of her favourite things is that people in the UK "seem to talk more", she explained that after training when they meet in the cafeteria lots of games were played and people barely used their phones, "I like that."
Having never lived abroad before, she's keen to take advantage of her time in the UK with hopes to take trips to Cardiff, Oxford, and Scotland while she's here and has spent a few days off around the Cotswolds with her manager, sister and "right-hand man", Olivia Maher. Enjoying her temporary local area, she's been exploring Bristol too, including the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge, "there’s a weird curb there that sometimes gets me, but I’ve now learned how to handle the curb." She added with a chuckle, "I drive a big old car, so I’m figuring out the roads on that!"
The two-time Olympian is undoubtedly a likeable sports personality, the fanbase she's built online that follows her all over the world of rugby is a testament to that but the impending US TikTok ban hasn't got her worried. She joked first, "thank God! Release us from these shackles of watching TikToks all the time!" Before adding that she can't do anything about it and she's been smart about the situation, "I tried to grow a lot on Instagram, I knew that was a really good platform to grow on and I have more followers there because of that – I knew one platform isn't enough."
She mentioned that TikTok can feel like a place to be free, "I'm just free on both apps." But being the most followed rugby player in the world on Instagram could really benefit her if the TikTok ban does go ahead!
Since the announcement of her PWR move broke, there's been support from all over the league for Maher. She revealed that players from across the teams have reached out to her since her signing. Wanting to see the continued rise of rugby, it is clear "if one of us rises, we all rise."
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