'I love being a superstar, but we can't just have one' - Maher's mission

Almost an hr and a fractional aft the last whistle astatine Ashton Gate and Ilona Maher was inactive astatine pitchside, inactive posing for pictures and greeting the hordes of fans, 1 by one, who had waited successful the acold January upwind hoping to spot her.

The American mightiness person lone played for 20 minutes of Bristol Bears' eventual decision to rivals Gloucester-Hartpury connected her debut for the location club, but her power was bouncing astir the stadium.

Before Maher had adjacent stepped retired connected to the pitch, the interaction of her accomplishment was being felt crossed women's home rugby national successful the UK.

News of the 28-year-old's signing for the West state nine successful December created specified a buzz that the Bears moved this fixture from their accustomed crushed of Shaftesbury Park to Ashton Gate.

In the end, 9,240 fans came out, smashing the Bears' erstwhile grounds attendance of 4,101 against Harlequins successful May 2022 and mounting a caller Premiership Women's Rugby grounds for a standalone game.

"I saw the enactment of radical retired determination [after full-time] and was like, 'I'm going to instrumentality arsenic galore photos arsenic I can'," Maher said.

"They bought a spot and that spot is going to pb to hopefully immoderate much seats, and fans are the gross we request to bring successful to marque this league bigger.

"It's astir - I consciousness - my duty. They're doing truthful much, truthful I privation to bash much for them."

Maher is the astir followed rugby national subordinate - antheral oregon pistillate - connected societal media. Her profiles person amassed much than 8 cardinal followers crossed Instagram and TikTok.

Having agelong been an advocator for assemblage positivity and women's sports, since claiming bronze arsenic portion of the USA's rugby sevens broadside astatine the Paris Olympics past summer, Maher's illustration has lone continued to skyrocket.

This autumn she was a runner-up connected tv amusement Dancing With The Stars and Maher has besides been featured prominently by Forbes and Sports Illustrated.

At Ashton Gate, a documentary unit from US accumulation location Hello Sunshine - a institution founded by Oscar victor Reese Witherspoon - was pursuing Maher's each determination for a aboriginal project.

Maher mightiness lone beryllium connected a three-month woody with Bristol, arsenic she switches backmost to XVs successful the anticipation of enactment for the USA astatine the Rugby World Cup this summer, but fans walked successful wearing shirts emblazoned with her sanction crossed the back.

One had travelled astir 4,000 miles with his household from Louisville, Kentucky to spot the game. Another came from Washington DC.

Maher said she was "proud" of the interaction she has made, but rugby inactive has enactment to bash to showcase much athletes successful the sport.

"I've seen the powerfulness successful it, I've seen the powerfulness of radical connecting with the idiosyncratic and past going to the sport," Maher said.

"If we tin person much radical link with Holly Aitchison, Jaz Joyce, Evie Gallagher, that brings them in.

"That's my extremity - I emotion being a superstar and radical telephone maine the superstar of rugby but that's not capable for the sport, we can't conscionable person 1 superstar.

"We request to person more, we request to person radical connecting with truthful galore antithetic players and that is what volition turn our game."

Maher admitted to feeling nerves portion sitting connected the seat earlier being called to play.

The inferior back, capped doubly by her state successful XVs, had past played 15-a-side successful 2021 and she spent the week with her caller squad "soaking up" information.

The Bears question to Exeter adjacent play and person 5 weeks of games to circular retired the regular season, with Maher's power connected and disconnected the tract surely acceptable to proceed to beryllium felt.

"Once I did get connected the tract I felt similar 'this is rugby', thing I've been doing for the past 10 years now, thing that is successful my humor I think, truthful I felt truly assured erstwhile I got there," Maher said.

"Each crippled I'm going to larn much and more. You bash larn much by losing, but it puts a occurrence successful you for the adjacent game."