USA’s Ilona Maher surpasses Siya Kolisi as the most followed active rugby player on Instagram
USA Women's Sevens star Ilona Maher looks on.
USA Women’s Sevens star Ilona Maher’s popularity has soared at the Olympic Games through her humour and light-hearted approach to social media that has seen her transcend the sport.
After the Springboks’ triumph at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, captain Siya Kolisi’s Instagram sky-rocketed over the 1 million followers mark which made him the only active player at the time to reach the media milestone.
Since then Kolisi’s Instagram presence has grown to 1.3 million followers which – until now – was still the most for an active rugby star.
Passing the crown
Now the social media crown is passed on to Maher whose 1.4 million followers will only continue to rise as she competes for an Olympic Medal in Paris.
Unlike Kolisi or even Antoine Dupont, who recently passed 1 million followers on his own, Maher’s feed is loaded with quirky and funny videos with clever transitions that are brilliantly done and intertwined with the nuances of the sport. This only increased at the Games in Paris where she has given an interesting insight into life in the Olympic Village.
It is incredibly refreshing to see a star of the game embrace the media age in her own personal way and one that only helps to grow the sport not only in the USA but across the globe.
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Maher is not just a trailblazer in the Women’s game but in the sport as a whole and her popularity has made her one of the most important people in rugby.
A reflection of her contribution and the growing Women’s sport was shown as a record crowd pulled into the Stade de France for the opening day’s action.
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