Fans flock to see Ilona Maher as US star makes Bristol Bears debut in 40-17 defeat against Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartpury

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

The second-half substitute was unable to alter the result — a 40-17 Ashton Gate defeat against Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartpury — but still proved a huge hit.

American back Maher has more than 8 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, making her the world’s most followed rugby player.

Her mere presence generated a Bristol record crowd of 9,240 for a women’s game, with the 28-year-old having a 20-minute cameo off the bench.

She spent more than an hour signing autographs and posing for pictures afterwards — some fans travelled from Kentucky and Washington — underlining the impact she will make throughout her three-month stay in the West Country.

‘I was definitely very nervous,’ Maher said. ‘But 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, it’s in my blood.

American back Maher has more than eight million followers on Instagram and TikTok

‘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 could make little impact as Gloucester-Hartpury dominated.

Maher won Olympic Sevens bronze with the United States in Paris, but had not played 15-a-side since 2021.

She is hoping to reacquaint herself with the format in a bid to gain selection for the USA squad that will travel to the England-hosted World Cup this year.

‘It is very different from Sevens,’ Maher (right) added. ‘Sevens is a battle and 15s is a war. It was tough out there. For me I was just trying to watch and understand.

‘I think each game I am going to learn more and more and you do learn a lot by losing, but also it puts a fire under you for the next game.’

Bristol’s Instagram following has risen from 21,000 to 67,000 since her signing.

She rose to fame on social media through combining messages of body positivity and female empowerment with her sharp sense of humour, while she was also runner-up on Dancing with the Stars, the American version of Strictly Come Dancing.

Maher was a huge star at the Olympics and has now taken her talents to the Bristol Bears

‘I was just trying to promote the game as much as possible,’ she said. 

‘To get 9,240 people out there, that’s so cool. You are seeing that the level of women’s rugby is getting better and better each year.

‘It is really important for me to connect with them. They are not just the next generation of rugby players, but the next generation of fans.

‘What’s cool was that there were a lot of women out there. Women have power, women have influence and they are a good fanbase to have.’