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.
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.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/05/bristol-gloucester-hartpury-ilona-maher-womens-premiership-rugby
Author : Sarah Rendell at Ashton Gate
Publish date : 2025-01-05 15:21:05
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