Ilona Maher insists she is now a ‘Bear for life’ after her spell at Bristol ended in a 36-20 defeat to Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) semi-finals.
The social media icon, who has 4.9m Instagram followers which dwarfs the likes of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi (1.4m), was signed by the Bears on a short-term contract.
Maher was part of USA‘s Sevens squad that won bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris but wanted to impress in the XVs game to push her case for World Cup selection.
‘Never say never’
That coincided with a move to Bristol Bears and she has impressed during her stint in PWR, playing on the wing and helping boost stadium attendances at the English side.
However, her time with Bristol ended on Sunday when they lost to Gloucester-Hartpury. Maher will now return to the USA but says she isn’t closing the door on the Bears.
“I never say never, I think it was amazing that even I got to come and play here for two and a half months,” Maher told BBC Sport after the semi-final loss at Queensholm.
“What I was hopefully able to do and learn in two and a half months was amazing but I hope that even if I’m not playing this league continues to grow and we can get these numbers out to games even when I’m not there.”
Maher added that she’s now a “Bear for life” and looked back on her time at Bristol with fond memories and is excited about the prospect of facing them on the Test scene.
“I’m proud to have been part of this team, a special programme they have here,” Maher said.
“The girls were so welcoming and made me part of the team and I got to play with some of England’s best players and Wales and Scottish, so it just set me up to be more successful at the World Cup.
“I’ll be playing against them – I wish I was playing with them but it was amazing.”
USA squad hopes
After heading back across the pond, Maher will hope her performances in the PWR campaign has earned her a spot in the USA XVs squad for the Pacific Four Series games.
“We start with the Pac Four with USA 15s and I hope I’ve proven myself in this space to vie for a roster spot in the USA team and I hope I will be selected for that,” she said.
“It’ll be a lot of continuing to learn the game and put myself in the position to make a roster for the World Cup but also be the best player I can be in the World Cup.”
READ MORE: Springboks and All Blacks plan to take ‘The Greatest Rivalry’ to the USA – report
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/ilona-maher-whats-next-for-usa-star-after-amazing-stint-in-england-ends-with-try-scoring-defeat
