Ilona Maher draws record crowd on Bristol Bears bow but Gloucester spoil party
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The US sevens superstar drew supporters from far and wide for her Premiership Women’s Rugby debut. Premiership Women’s Rugby has never seen a debut like Ilona Maher’s for Bristol Bears. The club more than doubled their record crowd attendance with the 9,240 supporters also breaking the crowd record for a standalone PWR regular season match. Maher’s presence was the cause of the influx of fans with the fixture against Gloucester-Hartpury moved to Ashton Gate from Shaftesbury Park after the USA international’s signing was announced in December.
![[Ilona Maher takes a selfie with fans after the match against Gloucester-Hartpury.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/eeeea586b03c1ecdcfd61a798164b01593d76590/0_121_4944_2967/master/4944.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Such is the Maher effect that the game was broadcast across the world, including the US and New Zealand. Supporters had to wait to see Maher in action as she started from the bench but she entered the fray in the 61st minute to a deafening roar. However, Gloucester upset the party with a bonus-point 40-17 win over their rivals.
Pre-match the ground was abuzz with Maher fever. Overheard conversations were all about the club’s star signing and among the record crowd were a group of players from Macclesfield RFC, who drove over 120 miles to see Maher’s debut. A number of supporters were attending their first rugby game, including fan Tally Bevis. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, but studying a graduate degree at University College London, Bevis travelled to Bristol just to see Maher and has been following the player since the buildup to the Paris Games.
Bevis, who was wearing a Maher Bristol shirt, said: “I knew when this would be potentially the first game she could play, I really didn’t mind if she played or not I just knew she would be here and I wanted to support the team she had joined. She is so viral, cool, real and funny online that it felt natural for me to jump on a train, order a jersey and get to the game.
