Ilona Maher: USA Rugby superstar ‘relishing’ Bristol Bears switch
Maher is returning to the XVs after playing sevens for three years, including helping her country win its first Olympic medal in the discipline with a dramatic late win over Australia in Paris in July.
The 28-year-old, whose 4.5 million Instagram followers and 3.2 million TikTok fans make him the most followed rugby union player in the world on social media, has already impressed Ward and the team in training.
“I thought she’d be a little more jetlagged, if I’m honest,” Aitchison said. “I didn’t realize she was going to do so much.
“It was great – with sevens, his core skills are great, so it’s really easy for him to step in and understand what we’re doing.
“It will be a little different when we come to team sessions and she has to understand all the structures. It will be fun when she understands that stuff and it will be more complex.
“People are surprised, perhaps, at how normal she is. She takes everything in stride – it doesn’t feel like you have some big personality like her in the room. From what I’ve guessed, she’s very nice and super -Chill.”
