The superstar American will make her Bristol Bears Women debut on 5 January against Gloucester-Hartpury
Ilona Maher has set to make her anticipated Premiership Women’s Rugby debut this weekend.
The former USA Sevens star signed for Bristol in early December but confirmed she will not play her first game for the club until the new year.
Bristol have confirmed their line-up for their first game in 2025 against Gloucester-Hartpury on 5 January with Maher set to start on the bench.
Maher will wear the 23 jersey and could be deployed from the bench in either the forwards or the backs.
Bristol Bears Women’s lineup against Gloucester-Hartpury
The demand for tickets for Maher’s first match was so high that the game was moved from Shaftsbury Park to Ashton Gate. The club have already sold a record 8,000 tickets for the game so far.
Maher will line-up alongside England Red Roses Holly Aitchison, Hannah Botterman, Lark Atkin-Davies, Sarah Bern and Abbie Ward.
On the team, head coach Dave Ward said: “With a crowd of nearly 8,000 expected at Ashton Gate on Sunday, it’s a hugely exciting occasion and we’re hoping to give them something to cheer about.
“We understand the importance of the game in the context of our season, and the quality of the reigning champions, but we head into the game with confidence and relishing the occasion and the challenge.”
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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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