Ilona Maher makes her feelings known on difference between Rugby Sevens and 15s after Bristol Bears debut

Ilona Maher shared her insights on the differences between Rugby Sevens and 15s after making her debut for the Bristol Bears against Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premiership Women’s Rugby. However, the Bears couldn't deliver a strong performance, losing the game 17-40 to the defending champions.

After her debut for the Bears, Maher spoke during a post-match press conference (via TNT Sports) about her experience transitioning from Rugby Sevens to Rugby 15s. The Olympic bronze medalist in Rugby Sevens shared her thoughts on the differences between the two, saying [0:55 onwards]:

“So different from sevens and sevens is a very quick, you know, little battle. And I guess this is kind of a good analogy… sevens is a battle, it feels like 15 sometimes is a war. Like, it carries on, it's so many moments. The ball goes this way, like we've started the end of the half, you know, up, and then it just shifts the other way. So I think, it was tough out there.”

She added [1:50 onwards]:

“Instincts may be are the same, it's more like the structure that you really have to understand. The moving parts are just so different. Sevens is a lot of one vs one. I fend this person, I'm pretty home-free. In 15s, it's one person's running here, you're running behind, you have three people in front of you. Is that the best option, or should we go out the back? So there's so much, so many more moving parts that I have to still kind of understand and learn.”

Notably, Ilona Maher wasn't included in the starting team but came on as a substitute in the 61st minute of the game.

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Ilona Maher spends time with fans giving autographs and clicking selfies post her PWR debut

Ilona Maher poses for a photograph with fans after making her debut for Bristol Bears (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Ilona Maher's debut elicited a lot of attention as the game drew a record-breaking crowd of 9,240 spectators for a home game. Despite the Bears ending on the losing side, the United States rugby star didn’t disappoint her fans, spending about 55 minutes with them after the game.

Take a look at the video here where Maher is captured spending time with fans -

In the video, she acknowledged that her smile hurt after taking so many photos but added that she loved doing it and would take as many photos as she could.