US rugby star Ilona Maher draws record crowd on Bristol debut

LONDON – United States rugby sevens star and social media sensation Ilona Maher made her eagerly anticipated debut for Bristol Bears in the English women’s Premiership on Jan 5 but could not prevent defeat for her new side.

The versatile American back, who won Olympic bronze at the 2024 Paris Games, has more than eight million followers across Instagram and TikTok, making her the world’s most followed rugby player.

The 28-year-old, who has signed a three-month contract with Bristol, was also a runner-up in the most recent series of US television show Dancing With The Stars.

Maher’s presence for the game against champions Gloucester-Hartpury generated a Bristol record crowd of 9,240 for a women’s game.

She came off the bench for the final 20 minutes at Ashton Gate to huge cheers but was unable to make a major impact and Bristol went down to a 40-17 defeat.

Maher has not played 15s rugby since 2021 but is aiming to gain selection for the US squad for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, taking place in England later in 2025.

Her arrival at the English Premiership club has boosted replica shirt sales, while Bristol’s Instagram following has soared from 21,000 to 67,000.

Meanwhile, Ackerley Sports Group (ASG) will pursue a new deal for the commercial rights to the Springboks rugby team after an initial bid for the world champions failed. 

The Seattle-based group, which cited support for its efforts from South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, said it will work with a professional adviser and will engage with any “approved South African consortium” to revive the deal. 

The rugby group is at risk of financial collapse unless it bolsters its revenue by emulating rivals such as New Zealand’s All Blacks, who have concluded a private equity deal, according to South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) president Mark Alexander.

Ackerley’s exclusive negotiating period with Saru lapsed at the end of 2024. That was weeks after its US$75 million (S$101.9 million) bid for a 20 per cent stake in a Saru commercial rights company and effective control of its board failed to win support from the South African group’s member unions. 

“ASG remains confident that its strategic value-creation plan should and will be part of any new proposal,” Chris and Ted Ackerley, the brothers who founded ASG, said in a statement on Jan 6. Ackerley wants to ensure that “any future plan is both effective and takes into account the needs of the member unions”, they said.

Before the vote on the ASG proposal, unions linked to South Africa’s richest men objected to it, the nation’s sports minister called for a postponement to the decision and local newspapers reported that a rival bid was being prepared. 

“This vote derailed the efforts that we have made to globalise and commercialise the Springboks. Furthermore, and importantly, this result has placed Saru back into financial peril,” ASG said.
AFP, BLOOMBERG