Ilona Maher makes her feelings known about Alan Bersten's special gesture for her Bristol Bears debut

Ilona Maher shared her thoughts after her Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) partner, Alan Bersten, made a special gesture for her Women's Premier League Rugby (PWL) debut for the Bristol Bears. Notably, Bersten downloaded the Rugby Network streaming service to watch the Olympian's debut for the PWL team, Bristol Bears.

Following the pair's journey in the 33rd season of the Dancing With The Stars (DWTS), where they finished as runners-up, Maher joined the Bristol Bears rugby team. On January 5, she made her debut against Gloucester-Hartpury. Although the debut didn't go as anticipated, with the Bears losing 40-17, the game set new records, with an impressive 9,240 spectators attending the home game.

As Maher debuted for the Bears, the choreographer shared on his Instagram stories that he had downloaded the Rugby Network streaming platform to cheer on his DWTS partner. He captioned the post:

“Just downloaded @therugbynetwork to watch @ilonamaher first game with @bristolbearswomen"

Ilona Maher reacted to the amazing gesture by Bersten as she wrote on her stories, adding:

“@alanbersten is a new rugby fan”

Screenshot of Ilona Maher’s Instagram stories. Credits - IG/ @ilonamaher

It is worth noting that the game marked the official beginning of the Paris Olympics bronze medalist’s three-month contract to play in the PWR.

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Ilona Maher shared her thoughts on the unique quality of rugby that connected with her

Ilona Maher after making her debut for Bristol Bears during the Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby match between Bristol Bears and Gloucester-Hartpury (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Ilona Maher explored different sports, including field hockey, soccer, track and field, basketball, and more, before trying out rugby in her senior year of high school.

In an interview with Rugby Union Weekly in December 2024, she expressed her thoughts on rugby’s unique quality that connected with her, saying (5:57 onwards):

“I've been playing for years but never tried rugby because there's no quality high-level rugby for young girls and boys in the US. So, I played you know high level basketball and whatnot. I decided to try out rugby my senior year of high school and I think what just worked with me is this ability to not tone yourself down in the game like they want you to be as powerful as forceful as fast as you can… Rugby's a really sport that allows you to express yourself in the fullest way possible.”

During the interview, Maher also mentioned how, in other sports, she was asked to pitch slower in softball or avoid overly aggressive moves in field hockey.