"Women will find a way" - Ilona Maher issues a strong message as she showcases improvisation by her Bristol Bears teammates

Ilona Maher shared a video of her Bristol Bears teammates getting ready using phone screens and makeup box mirrors, highlighting how women can improvise regardless of the situation. Maher recently played for the Bears against the Harlequins on Valentine's Day.

Maher, who has been playing with the PWR team Bristol Bears since January, garnered record spectators at Ashton Stadium in her debut game. Her popularity as a body positivity advocate earned her a whopping 4.9 million followers on Instagram and over 3 million on TikTok, making her the most-followed rugby star. Her unique content creation skills have won many hearts at the Paris Olympics, where she also clinched her debut bronze podium with the US rugby sevens team.

She also continues to attract attention in PWR with her hilarious skits, whether on or off the rugby field. On Valentine's Day, the Bristol Bears played their final match of the 2024/25 season, trouncing Harlequins, but their semi-final appearance depends on the fifth-positioned Exeter Chiefs with two games to go.

After the victory, Maher took to her Instagram post to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the women getting ready for the game without mirrors. Two players used phone screens while another used a small make-up mirror to do her hair.

In her caption, Ilona Maher celebrated the fact that women can adjust and improvise in any situation.

"When the locker room doesn't have mirrors, the girls are gonna improvise," she wrote in the video.

Her post caption said:

"Women will find a way"

Maher played for 73 minutes in the winning match and met the famous female education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai.

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Ilona Maher weighed in on the need for women in rugby to step up and be famous to take forward the sport

Ilona Maher playing in the Harlequins v Bristol Bears clash - Premiership Women's Rugby - (Source: Getty)

Maher's first PWR game against the Gloucester-Hartpury amassed 9000 spectators and her full debut against the Exeter Chiefs saw 4000 people flock to the stadium to watch her play. While she loves the attention, she once expressed her wish to see more female players take the sport forward by being in the spotlight like her.

"I’ve had people in tears just because I took a selfie. Those moments mean a lot to me. And there’s so many that add up. I just hope that, again, I’m honored to be that superstar of rugby but I just feel like it’s not enough for it just to be me. We need more players (to be in the spotlight too) because I’m maybe, as I said, working my magic here (trying to help others do it). I think we need more (players to do the same) to make it even bigger," she said in a press conference. (The Athletic)

Ilona Maher also made waves with her advocacy at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she played with the US rugby team but failed to make it to the podium.