The star player hoping to turn millions of TikTok followers into rugby fans

Rugby subordinate Ilona Maher has won fans and admirers with her sporting talent.

But it's her connection of assemblage positivity that's attracted millions of followers connected societal media.

The US-born athlete, 28, regularly jumps connected TikTok and Instagram to speech astir assemblage positivity and being a high-profile pistillate successful sport.

Since the Paris Olympics, she's go 1 of the biggest rugby players successful the world, and determination are hopes that her caller determination to UK broadside Bristol Bears could boost the sport's profile.

Even though she lone played for 20 minutes arsenic a substitute, her debut lucifer past play drew a grounds assemblage for the team, which relocated the fixture to a bigger venue.

The prima hung astir aft the crippled for much than 90 minutes to airs for pictures and speech to fans.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat aft her debut lucifer past weekend, Ilona says she's "honoured" to beryllium a relation exemplary for young women and girls.

"My connection to [girls] would beryllium to marque definite you springiness yourself grace and are gentle with your body," she says.

"There are going to beryllium days wherever it's pugnacious to emotion it each the clip but springiness it grace and bash things, whether it's dance, rugby oregon taking a walk, to amusement what it's capable to bash for you."

Aspiring players Zara and Millie, who turned up to ticker the game, archer Newsbeat Ilona helped them to realise: "Just due to the fact that you play a sport, it doesn't specify however you tin beryllium arsenic a person."

"Ilona's changed the cognition of assemblage representation by showing that you tin beryllium muscly and beardown and almighty and deterioration a dress," says 16-year-old Zara.

"Just due to the fact that you play a athletics it doesn't specify however you tin beryllium arsenic a idiosyncratic - however you person to look, however you person to act.

"I cognize a batch of young girls conflict with that."

Zara and team-mate Millie, besides 16, play for North Bristol Rugby Club.

They some had to determination to Bristol erstwhile they turned 12 successful bid to continute playing owed to the deficiency of much section girls' teams.

"I've been playing rugby since I was astir six and I utilized to play with the boys up until I was U12s which is the property bounds that you're not allowed to play with them anymore," says Zara.

An diversion physique is "always seen arsenic a masculine thing", adds Millie.

"[Ilona's] a relation exemplary for maine due to the fact that I'm rather gangly and she's besides gangly and she conscionable shows the quality successful that and she's not ashamed of it."

For rugby national writer and writer Jessica Hayden, Ilona's connection of assemblage positivity is breaking down a important obstruction successful the women's game.

"Half of the contented is that they don't person the accidental and that clubs don't person women's oregon girls offerings for them," she tells Newsbeat.

"The different fractional of the contented is that, erstwhile they get to that age, there's problems astir assemblage positivity."

And portion determination person been campaigns successful the past to beforehand assemblage confidence, what makes Ilona chopped done is her authenticity, Jessica says.

"Personalities are the astir important happening successful athletics due to the fact that radical privation to recognize who this jock is," she says.

"What I truly liked was seeing young girls talking to her [after her debut] astir what Ilona's done for them successful presumption of however they presumption their ain bodies.

"And I'm definite those conversations are happening up and down the state astir what she's doing for the sport."

Team-mates Millie and Zara accidental they're excited to spot the boost they deliberation Ilona's already bringing to the women's game.

A record-breaking assemblage of 9,240 turned retired to ticker Ilona's Premiership Women's Rugby debut arsenic the Bristol Bears took connected rivals Gloucester-Hartpury.

The fig is much than treble the Bears' erstwhile grounds attendance of 4,101- not to notation a caller Premiership Women's Rugby grounds for a standalone game.

"She's had a monolithic effect," says Zara.

"They mightiness not play rugby, they mightiness not ever person watched a rugby match, but due to the fact that they travel her connected Instagram and TikTok, they privation to travel and ticker her."

Jessica was besides successful the assemblage and says she's "never seen thing similar it".

"If you person each those fans who turned up to spot Ilona Maher, they mightiness go Bristol Bears fans and past travel backmost the adjacent week and the week aft that," she says.

Ilona's signed to Bristol connected a 3 period woody and Millie says it's "a truly bully accidental to make much of a level for women's rugby".

Jessica is optimistic that volition happen, peculiarly with the Women's Rugby World Cup being hosted successful England this twelvemonth and plans to boost pistillate participation successful the sport.

"We could beryllium having our Lionesses moment," Jessica says, referring to the occurrence of England's women's shot team.

"The attraction [Ilona]'s drafting it close present tin lone beryllium a bully happening for the wider game.

"Now is the clip to put successful women's rugby - it's lone going to get bigger."

After coming connected for 20 minutes, the Bristol Bears yet mislaid to rivals Gloucester-Hartpury 17-40 and Ilona told Newsbeat she's "ready for more".

"I consciousness happy, but hungry's the connection - I'm acceptable to bash more."