Rugby Star Ilona Maher’s Bristol Bears Debut Draws Record-Breaking Crowd

The Olympic medalist and SI Swimsuit model is on a three-month contract with the professional English team.

Ilona Maher / Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Ilona Maher stepped onto the pitch for her Bristol Bears debut and brought an entire wave of fans with her.

The Olympian, who took home team USA’s first bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Games, joined London’s Premiership Women’s Rugby last December and made her team debut on Sunday, Jan. 5, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 9,420 fans to the game against defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury. The match, which had to be relocated to Ashton Gate Stadium due to high ticket demand, marked a historic moment for the league, more than doubling the team’s previous attendance record of 4,101 set in May 2022.

Ilona Maher / Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Despite the 40–17 loss for the Bears, Sunday marked a milestone and unforgettable moment for English sports and the league. The 28-year-old stayed on the field for more than an hour after the game, signing autographs and meeting fans—though we’re not surprised, she has been able to connect with 8.2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok through her candid body-positive content, fun personality and impeccable sense of humor.

Maher’s move to the Bristol Bears, and switch from rugby sevens to fifteens, is part of a three-month contract that she hopes will put her in a strong position to be selected for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. “I really love what the PWR is doing, and I love their branding,” she said ahead of her debut. “It is a stressful thing and it is outside of my comfort zone, but I think this is exactly what I love to do, and I like to challenge myself in this way.”

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The Vermont native gained widespread recognition during the 2024 Paris Olympics, after which she continued to grow her fanbase through an SI Swimsuit digital cover issue and a phenomenal runner-up standing on Dancing With the Stars.

Maher is also breaking barriers in the world of fashion and media. She has landed major sponsorships as the face of Maybelline Cosmetics and a People magazine cover girl.

She’s constantly inspiring an entire generation of young women with her signature “Beast, Beauty, Brains” slogan and proving that women really can do it all.

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“I decided to try out rugby my senior year of high school, and I think what just worked with me is this ability to not tone yourself down in the game. They want you to be as powerful, as forceful, as fast as you can. Rugby is really a sport that allows you express yourself in the fullest way possible,” Maher shared, adding that she does her best to step out of the box that society sometimes places athletes in. “The thing is, like athletes and women are so versatile. You can be beautiful and wear lipstick. I wear lipstick when I play rugby because I just feel like I don’t have to sacrifice one or the other, like I can be a beast in the field, but also feel beautiful and wear lipstick. I also am smart. I have a nursing degree. I have a Masters in business. I think for those girls out there, I think we’re trying to show with rugby, that it’s up for you to define your own femininity.”