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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
American rugby superstar Ilona Maher is in line to make her Bristol Bears debut on Sunday having been named on the bench for their match against Gloucester-Hartpury at Ashton Gate.
Maher’s move to Bristol on a three-month deal was announced in December as she seeks to force her way into contention for the USA Eagles at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Having already helped guide the U.S. sevens side to bronze at Paris 2024, Sunday’s match sees Maher take her first steps in moving from the short form of the sport to XV’s ahead of this year’s World Cup.
Maher only arrived in Bristol on Dec. 31 and trained on New Year’s Day. Her global popularity, with a social media following exceeding eight million people across her different platforms, saw Bristol move Sunday’s match against Gloucester-Hartpury from their usual Shaftesbury Park home to a bigger stadium at the 27,000-capacity Ashton Gate because of “unprecedented demand,” according to the Bears.
An attendance of nearly 10,000 is expected on Sunday.
This will be Maher’s first foray in rugby since finishing second on Dancing With The Stars. It’s been quite the introduction to life at Bristol amid a flurry of media interest, with Bristol Bears’ coach Dave Ward conceding this week that Maher wasn’t “quite herself yet” as she makes the adjustment to life in the UK and XV’s and manages a “little bit of an illness.”
Regardless, she has impressed already at Bristol, training on New Year’s Day when the rest of the squad had the day off, and, as Ward said, proving how she “wants to hit the ground running.”
Maher last played the XV-a-side format of the sport in 2021 but on Sunday she will line up in the PWR.
Gloucester-Hartpury are third in the table with 38 points from 10 matches, while the Bears have played a game fewer, and lie in fifth, with 31 points from nine games.
“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,” Ward said.
“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.”