Ilona Maher's dance partner Alan Bersten reacts with a sweet message as she gears up for first official day with the Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher's dance partner Alan Bersten reacted to the rugby player's first official day with the Bristol Bears women's club. The 28-year-old Olympic bronze medalist will represent the Bristol Bears at the Premiership Women's Rugby League.

Maher recently uploaded a video of herself preparing for the occasion, with the video titled:

"First day of 'school' with Bristol Bears."

Maher captioned the post on Instagram:

"Nervous but excited."

Bersten reacted to the occasion with a comment that read:

"So excited for you!! Have fun."

Screengrab of Alan Bersten's comment [Image Source: Ilona Maher's Instagram]

Bersten had previously expressed his delight at being included in Maher's best moments from 2024. The rugby player uploaded a series of photographs on her Instagram profile, which were captioned:

"2024 you were downright spectacular ✨."

Bersten took to the comments section to express his thoughts at being included, writing"

"Yes!!! I made the cut."

Ilona Maher had teamed up with Alan Bersten for the 33rd season of Dancing with the Stars. Despite initial hiccups, the dancing duo surprised everyone with their performances. Maher and Bersten reached the grand finale, where they eventually finished as runners-up, missing the mirrorball trophy by a whisker.

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Ilona Maher on joining the Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher on joining the Bristol Bears' team [Image Source: Getty]

Ilona Maher signed up for a three-month contract with the Bristol Bears. She accepted the offer right after her historic stint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she contributed to the USA's historic performance in the women's rugby sevens event. For the first time in the history of this event, the USA returned with an Olympic medal.

In early December 2024, Maher uploaded a video on Instagram of herself wearing the Bears' jersey, as she wrote:

"I am so excited to join the Bristol Bears and play Premiership Women's rugby with and against some of the best rugby players in the world."

In an interview with the YouTube channel of Bristol Bears around the same time, Maher expressed her thoughts about joining the club. She said:

"For years now I have been really interested in the PWR. I loved the rebranding last year and what they're trying to do with it. I think there's so much room here to grow and to improve as a player and a person."

Maher added:

"I know a lot of my teammates or opponents on the series who play for these teams and speak so highly of it. So I'm really excited to actually get to experience it myself."

Maher will be seen in action against the Gloucester-Hartpury on January 5. This will be the first time the rugby player is playing the 15-member format since 2021.