"Stop fighting over me" - Ilona Maher performs a hilarious skit after sustaining nose injury in a match against Leicester Tigers

Ilona Maher performed a hilarious skit after sustaining a nose injury in the Bristol Bears' game against the Leicester Tigers. Maher joined PWR in January and will play through March in a three-month contract.

Maher debuted as a substitute in the Bears' match against defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury. Her team incurred her loss but made up for it in the next game against the Exeter Chiefs, where Maher scored her first try.

On January 18, 2025, Ilona Maher took the field with her team opposite Leicester Tigers. Though her team brought the win home, she couldn't last for long, having suffered a nose injury. She was even spotted with an ice pack on her face during the post-match celebration.

On January 19, 2025, she shared a video of herself with marks on her face, hilariously pretending to be the center of attention as she stepped out on the street.

"Guys stop fighting over me. There's enough to go around. What? I am a model. Yes. Thank you so much. Oh. You've already fallen in love, it'll pass."

In the video, she wrote:

"Me on the street today (probably)

Her post caption read:

"I’m just assuming this is how today will go."

A day ago, another Instagram post featured the rugby player's fun take on her injury as she lip-synced in her own audio while putting ice on her nose.

"When people keep asking me if I'm okay but I just broke my nose."

Highlighting the gravity of the situation in the comments, she wrote:

"No sir, I'm truly not okay."

Maher was part of the US women's rugby sevens team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She and her team clinched the bronze medal, the nation's first Olympic medal in rugby. In addition, Ilona Maher won attention and hearts with her unique content and body-positive advocacy.

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Ilona Maher on how fan interaction can garner more crowd to rugby in future

Ilona Maher with her fans at the Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury - (Source: Getty)

Maher's unique content creation, her embrace of her body, and her promotion of femininity have made her the most followed rugby player on social media. Her debut game with the Bristol Bears in PWR welcomed a record crowd at the Ashton Gate Stadium.

In a post-match interview, she shared that taking photos with as many fans as possible can attract more people to the sport.

"I saw the line of people out there [after full-time] and was like, 'I'm going to take as many photos as I can'. They bought a seat and that seat is going to lead to hopefully some more seats, and fans are the revenue we need to bring in to make this league bigger. It's almost - I feel - my duty. They're doing so much, so I want to do more for them." (via BBC)

Ilona Maher also travelled to the Tokyo Olympics as part of the US women's rugby team. Her resume also includes the Dancing With the Stars runners-up title won in the 33rd season.