London (AFP) – World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin believes social media sensation Ilona Maher is ideally placed to excite fans in the lead-up to this year’s Women’s World Cup in England. The versatile American back — a breakout star at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris — is now the world’s most popular rugby player on social media, with more than three million followers on TikTok.
Ahead of the World Cup, the 28-year-old has joined English Premiership women’s side Bristol Bears in a three-month deal starting in January. So great is the interest in Maher’s arrival that the Bears have moved several of their league games to the 27,000 capacity Ashton Gate — home of the Bristol men’s side — where a new club record attendance is expected for their southwest derby with Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday.
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“We know these brilliant young women are coming into the game with compelling personal stories, with really powerful personalities, seeing the game as a great platform to build their own brands as Ilona has,” Gilpin told reporters. “Actually, it’s a great example for the men’s game and I think that’s what we need in rugby. We know there’s that shift in fandom to fans following individual players in the women’s game, and certainly the platform we are going to give them in the Women’s World Cup is the gateway to that.”
Maher followed her Olympic sevens bronze by extending her reach beyond rugby union with an appearance on American television’s celebrity Dancing with the Stars programme, where she was a finalist. Gilpin added, “Ilona is unique in so many ways because she is a trailblazer in the women’s game, but there are a whole host of brilliant women that are going to play in this tournament next year. Ilona has given permission to everybody to go and be themselves.”
Tournament organisers expect the World Cup final at Twickenham, the headquarters of English rugby union, on September 27 to be an 80,000 capacity sell-out, which would set a new record for a women’s rugby event. They have already sold nearly half of the World Cup’s total 220,000 tickets, with 50 percent already purchased for tournament favourites England’s opening match against the United States at northeast football club Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on August 22. England’s Red Roses, undefeated in 2024, are hoping to avenge an agonising defeat by New Zealand in the 2021 final.
The Women’s World Cup will take place just under a month after the conclusion of football’s Euro 2025, where England’s Lionesses will look to defend their title — and first major trophy — from 2022. Sarah Massey, managing director of Rugby World Cup 2025, said, “We’re just seeing women’s sport taking centre stage… We see it as an opportunity for all women’s sport, all boats allied.” She added, “It’s a summer of women’s sport.”
© 2024 AFP
