Ilona Maher signs with Premiership Women's Rugby club after runners-up finish in Dancing With The Stars

Ilona Maher has signed a three-month deal with Premiership Women's Rugby club Bristol Bears for the rest of the season. Last Tuesday, the two-time Olympian finished runners-up with partner Alan Barsten on Dancing With The Stars season 33.

Maher has been focusing on Rugby sevens for the last three years and will now return to the XVs for a short period. The 28-year-old utility back can play at center or on the wing when she takes the field for the Bears in early 2025.

The Olympic medalist arrived in Bristol shortly after her runners-up finish at the DWTS and held a few practice sessions with the team. She signed a three-month contract starting in January 2025 and will return to the United States before Christmas. She will likely play her first game against Gloucester-Hartpury on January 4.

Maher had been planning to play in the English top flight since late 2023 before Bristol Bears contacted her during DWTS. The club appealed for her eligibility to the Rugby Football Union and subsequently, the RFU approved the same. The 28-year-old had also started receiving offers from other clubs but decided to stick with the Bears for going the extra mile to sign her.

Maher is among the most popular rugby players in the world, enjoying a massive 4.5 million Instagram followers and 3.2 million on TikTok, and Bears' head coach Dave Ward couldn't be any happier. Calling the American's signing a "huge coup", he said (via BBC):

"Ilona is one of the biggest names in women's sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will add real value to our programme on and off the field."

Maher was equally excited to join the English top flight and claimed feeling like a kid going to his first day of school.

"I do feel like the first day of school, I am nervous, I don’t know everybody. It is a stressful thing and it is outside of my comfort zone but I think this is exactly what I love to do and I like to challenge myself in this way,” she told The Guardian.

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Ilona Maher opens up on what role she would play in the Bristol Bears Rugby team

76th Primetime Emmy Awards - Ilona Maher in attendance (Source: Getty)

After signing with Bristol Bears, Ilona Maher will continue to play in the center. The American star is also looking to play on the wing and hopes to have a go as a forward at the end of the season too.

“I think we will see wing, some centre. Then I would love to, we were just talking about it, when we can try in the forwards and see if there is an opportunity sometime to go to eight or flanker," Ilona Maher told The Guardian.

The 28-year-old rose to the province at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and although the USA didn't win any medals, she led the scoring for the nation. At the 2024 Olympics, the utility back scored tries in all group-stage matches before leading them to a bronze medal victory.