Ilona Maher hit back at a social media user who accused her of playing for the Bristol Bears as an 'Instagrammer' instead of a regular. Maher recently took the field as a Bears player at the Ashton Gate Stadium in a game against the defending champions, Gloucester-Hartpury.
Maher played for the US women's rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympics and won the bronze medal. She also made her presence felt as a body positivity advocate and unfurled her rugby skills. Her stint at Dancing With the Stars earned her love and appreciation from fans, attracting more people to rugby.
Ilona Maher then stepped on the PWR after signing a three-year contract with UK-based Bristol Bears, willing to join the US team at the 2025 Rugby World Cup. The most followed rugby athlete on social media witnessed a record crowd at the Ashton Gate Stadium when she took the field last weekend in a match against Gloucester-Hartpury.
Though the latter team won, Maher collected cheers and even stopped for selfies with fans. Following that, a social media user asked whether she would play for the Bears as a regular or an 'Instagrammer.
"Are you a regular at the bears game or just this one as Instagrammer was playing?"
Offended by the statement, Maher silenced the fan by clarifying that she should be addressed as an Olympic medalist.
"I'm an Olympic Medalist: put some respect on my name."
Maher further shared the exchange in her Instagram story, writing:
"Don't play with me."
Maher attended Quinnipiac University, where she won three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championships. She also played for the US team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ilona Maher spoke about the factors that set Rugby Sevens and Rugby 15s apart
Maher has played Rugby Sevens with the US team at the Tokyo Olympics and Paris Olympics but her shift to 15s at PWR made her realise the difference between the two. In a post-match conference after her Bears debut, she said:
"So different from sevens and sevens is a very quick, you know, little battle. And I guess this is kind of a good analogy… sevens is a battle, it feels like 15 sometimes is a war. Like, it carries on, it's so many moments. The ball goes this way, like we've started the end of the half, you know, up, and then it just shifts the other way. So I think, it was tough out there." (0:55 onwards)
She added:
"Instincts may be are the same, it's more like the structure that you really have to understand. The moving parts are just so different. Sevens is a lot of one vs one. I fend this person, I'm pretty home-free. In 15s, it's one person's running here, you're running behind, you have three people in front of you. (1:50 onwards)
Ilona Maher finished runners-up at the Dancing With the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Alan Bersten.
