Ilona Maher’s debut attracts record crowd as Bristol Bears defeated by Gloucester-Hartpury
Ilona Maher of Bristol Bears.
USA rugby star and social media sensation Ilona Maher’s Bristol Bears debut ended in defeat against Gloucester-Hartpury in front of a club record crowd at Ashton Gate on Sunday.
There was plenty of hype in the build-up to Maher’s debut for Bristol Bears and 9,240 spectators were in attendance, but the visitors eventually clinched a deserved 40-17 triumph in this Premiership Women’s Rugby encounter.
Maher started the match amongst Bristol’s backline replacements and came off the bench in the final quarter.
Despite all the fanfare around Maher’s appearance, the visitors kept their composure and eventually outscored the Bears by six tries to three.
Good start
Bristol held a slight edge during the opening period and led 10-7 at half-time courtesy of tries from Millie David and Alisha Joyce-Butchers, with Gloucester-Hartpury’s points coming via a try from Emma Sing which she also converted.
However, the visitors took control of proceedings after the interval and further five-pointers from Natasha Hunt, Rachel Lund and Maud Muir during the early stages of the second half gave them a 28-10 lead.
There was a loud cheer from the crowd when Maher eventually made her Bristol Bears bow in the 61st minute but, although a Sarah Bern try for the home side narrowed the gap, Gloucester-Hartpury secured the result when Mia Venner and Georgia Brock crossed the whitewash in the game’s latter stages.
Maher joined Bristol Bears on a short-term contract last month in a bid to make the USA Women’s team for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in England later this year.
The 28-year-old helped the USA win a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris last year and her popularity rose during that time as she became the most followed rugby page in the world with a whopping 4.6 million followers on Instagram.
She has since featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated before taking part in Dancing with the Stars.
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