Ilona Maher pens emotional farewell note to Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher’s stint competing for the Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby League came to an end earlier this month. Recently, the American bid her final goodbye to the Bears, making her feelings for the team known with an emotional farewell note.

Maher is one of the best-known faces of rugby across the globe, and she first found fame in 2020, when she began documenting the life of athletes in the Olympic Village. In 2024, the 28-year-old’s popularity skyrocketed after she led Team USA to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

In December 2024, Ilona Maher signed a three-month contract with the Bristol Bears, returning to rugby 15s after more than three years. She competed for the Bears in seven matches between January and March 2025, putting on some impressive performances and scoring four tries over the course of her matches.

As her stint in the PWR came to an end, Maher recently penned a goodbye note for the Bears, and wrote on Instagram,

“Thank you Bristol. You've been downright swell.”

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Ilona Maher reflects on her time with the Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher speaks about her time with the Bears (Image Source: Getty)

With the end of her time at the Premiership Women's Rugby League, Ilona Maher reflected on the possibility of returning to the Bristol Bears team for another season. Maher told BBC Sport that it wasn't something she had ruled out completely, saying,

"I never say never, I think it was amazing that I even got to come and play here for two and a half months. What I was hopefully able to do and learn in two and a half months was amazing but I hope that even if I'm not playing this league continues to grow and we can get these numbers out to games even when I'm not there.”

She went on to heap praise on the Bears’ programme, saying,

"I'm proud to have been part of this team, a special programme they have here. The girls were so welcoming and made me part of the team and I got to play with some of England's best players and Wales and Scottish, so it just set me up to be more successful at the World Cup.”

While Ilona Maher has excelled as a rugby sevens player in the last few years, her return to the rugby 15s format was motivated by her hopes of competing at the World Cup later this year. With her stint in the PWR wrapped up, the 28-year-old will now tune her focus to getting selected for the Pacific Four Series where Team USA will compete in May.