Ilona Maher admits to nerves ahead of much-anticipated Bristol debut

Social media sensation Ilona Maher admitted that the nerves kicked in as she made her much-anticipated Bristol Bears debut in front of a record crowd.

While second-half substitute Maher was unable to affect the result – a 40-17 Ashton Gate defeat against Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartpury – she still proved a huge hit.

American back Maher has more than eight million followers across Instagram and TikTok, making her the world’s most followed rugby player.

Maher’s mere presence generated a Bristol record crowd of 9,240 for a women’s game – and league-highest for a standalone fixture – with the 28-year-old having a 20-minute introduction off the replacements’ bench.

She spent more than an hour after the game signing autographs and posing for pictures – some fans travelled from Kentucky and Washington DC – underlining the impact she will continue to make throughout her three-month stay in the west country.

“I was definitely very nervous,” Maher said.

“But then I think I wanted to make my team-mates proud and show I deserved to be out there. Once I did get on the field I felt like ‘OK, this is rugby’ it is something I have been doing for the last 10 years now, it’s in my blood.

“I didn’t feel nervous pre-match or this morning. It wasn’t until I was on the bench. I think it’s almost more (nervous) to be a sub, because you think ‘maybe I will touch the ball once and I won’t mess it up’. But once I got out there I was pretty calm.”

Maher made her presence felt in a couple of rucks and looked for work off the wing, but she could make little impact to the overall picture as Gloucester-Hartpury dominated the second half.

Maher won Olympic sevens bronze with the United States in Paris, but she had not played 15s since 2021.

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