Ilona Maher: Bears stint can help me ‘fit seamlessly’ into USA World Cup team
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Ilona Maher says the measure of success with Bristol for her would be if she has “caught up” with the USA 15s team to aid her bid to be part of this year’s Rugby World Cup. The 28-year-old signed for Bears in December with the goal of making the USA squad for the tournament during August and September in England. Before moving to the Premiership Women’s Rugby club this month, Maher last played 15s rugby in 2021 but was a central figure in the nation winning Olympic sevens bronze at the Paris Games.
Maher, who has more than eight million social media followers and was also runner-up on Dancing with the Stars – the American equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, said: “I think success will look to me if I understand the game of 15s more. I am in it, I feel the flow of it. I have been doing sevens for so long that I [know] sevens like the back of my hand, I feel very comfortable with it.
“With 15s it’s all rugby but it is a little different so [success would be] feeling like I can enter that USA team not feeling like I am catching up, [I want to feel like] I’ve caught up. I am there and fit seamlessly in.”. Maher, whose deal lasts until the end of the season, made her debut for Bristol against Gloucester-Hartpury earlier this month and the game was moved to Ashton Gate to accommodate an unprecedented ticket demand. The match broke the club’s attendance record for a PWR game with 9,240 fans in the stands.
