“At halftime, I was like, ‘We got another 40 minutes of this?’”- Ilona Maher opens up on a challenging aspect during first start for Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher opened up about a challenging aspect during her first start for the Premiership Women's Rugby team, Bristol Bears. After making her PWR debut against Gloucester-Hartpury, where she entered as a substitute, Maher went on to make her full debut against Exeter Chiefs on January 12, 2025.

Maher ended up on the winning side as the Bears emerged as the better team against the Chiefs, winning by a margin of 41-31. Following her team’s victory, the Paris Olympics bronze medalist in the rugby sevens reflected on her first start for the Bears during a post-match interview, saying (0:04 onwards):

“It was a fun time. It was definitely, you know, just getting my feet wet and trying to figure it out a little bit more.”

However, the 28-year-old recalled a moment during the game when she realized that only halftime had passed and there were another 40 minutes of play to go, suggesting the demanding nature of playing rugby 15s:

“I remember at halftime, I was like, 'We got another 40 minutes of this?'”

Ilona Maher, nonetheless, admitted that it was a great game, adding:

“But it was fun. I think it was a great game to play in.”

It is worth noting that Maher also achieved a personal feat as she scored her first-ever try for the Bristol Bears during the 55th minute of the game.

Ilona Maher opens up on attracting record-breaking 9240 crowd on her first game for Bristol Bears

: Ilona Maher reacts in an interview (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Ilona Maher’s debut game for the Bristol Bears against Gloucester-Hartpury drew a record-breaking crowd of 9,240 at Ashton Gate that set a league-high attendance for a standalone game. Following her debut where she featured as a substitute, Maher was asked about how she felt about being the reason behind the huge attendance. To which, she said via TNT Sports (3:10 onwards):

“I mean my thing I said this before like, ‘If I'm what gets them to a game, awesome. But I hope that they stay and realize the rugby that's being played and they come back for another game. I think it's like getting them in the door and showing them what this is about.”

She added:

“The level of play and the level that's being played now, I mean it's completely different than it was 3 four years ago. It's quality stuff and I hope these guys come back for another game just to see the environment that it is.”

Although fans came in huge numbers to support Ilona Maher and Bristol Bears, they lost the game in what was a one-sided affair by 40-17.