Ilona Maher: Bristol Bears star says rugby union needs culture change to create stars and grow game | Rugby news

Ilona Maher says rugby union needs to change its culture and mindset if it wants to evolve as a sport.

With more than eight million followers on Instagram and TikTok, 28-year-old United States fullback Maher is the most followed rugby player on social media.

She rose to fame on social media by combining messages of body positivity and female empowerment with her signature sharp sense of humour, and was runner-up on Dancing with the Stars – America's equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing.

Currently playing Premiership Women's Rugby with the Bristol Bears on a three-month contract, Maher hopes to be a part of the USA team at the World Cup in England later this year.

And she has already made a significant impact in the West Country, helping to attract a record crowd for a women's game when she made her debut against Gloucester-Hartpury at Ashton Gate.

“It's great to have all these record numbers, but what we want is for them to keep coming back for the next game. One is almost not enough,” Maher said at a news conference attended by local, national and US media.

“I'm sprinkling a little here. But we need people to keep coming. It's not just me.

“There's something special happening not just in England but around the world in women's sport and women's rugby. My message is if I'm the one who gets someone to experience rugby then that's great. I want more people to play and watch.

“We're a very stoic sport in a way. I would like to see more personality in the men's game.

“You see it a bit with a player like Joe Marler, but I can't think of many others who have it. I wish I could show it more.

“There is a culture in rugby that we have to change. It's an amazing sport, but also an old sport where the same things have been happening for years.

“We talk all the time about how to get young people into the game. Those people are online. We have to change the way we think if we want the sport to grow.”

England are set to host the biggest ever Women's Rugby World Cup in August and September, with an 82,000 sell-out final at Allianz Stadium the target crescendo.

The games will be held in venues from the North East to the South West and two-time Olympian Maher added: “More women need to use it to get out.

“I went to the Olympics (she was part of the US sevens team) knowing that people are made of it – Simone Biles, Michael Phelps.

“I went to Paris knowing that I had a chance to make myself and I went with a plan to put out a bunch of videos. Can we go into the World Cup with a plan for the players to post more videos?

“I want to show that you can do both – play good rugby and post good videos. We all have a responsibility to make the most of this World Cup.

“Where I come from in America, NFL players make millions of dollars when they sign their first contract. We always talked about getting sponsorship without knowing how to do it.

“I realized there's a different way to do it. I'm not going to sign a million dollar contract or six figures anywhere. We have to do it a different way.

“It has to be up to us to do more. I've seen how useful social media can be, and I think what sets the women's game apart is that we're comfortable showing our personalities.

“I think the men's game has so many amazing players, but they don't really show their personality on it. We need to get more people to watch our sport.”

Maher has already been introduced to trips to the Cotswolds, roast dinners, sausage rolls and whites – Glastonbury, Cardiff and Scotland are also on her to-do list – and her influence is proving significant.

“Putting yourself out there is how you make connections with people,” she said. “If we talk about wanting more funding, we want more of this, we have to work hard for it.

“If we want this to grow, it's up to us. We have to do more, that's a simple fact.”