Ilona Maher’s Dancing With The Stars partner Alan Bersten congratulated the American on signing with English top-flight rugby club Bristol Bears. The Olympian has signed a three-month contract and will play in the remainder of the 2024/25 Premiership Women’s Rugby season.
Maher has played Rugby sevens for the majority of her career and was looking for a change before deciding to move to the English top flight. The 28-year-old was contacted by several clubs but decided to sign with the Bears, who played a crucial role in Maher becoming eligible for the rugby 15s after not having played it since 2021.
The two-time Olympian’s contract starts in January 2025 and runs through the remainder of the season, which concludes with the final on March 14th. Maher was excited to join the team and shared that her decision was also driven by the desire to play the 2025 World Cup.
“I am excited to join the Bristol Bears and put myself in the best position to earn a spot to represent USA in the 2025 Rugby World Cup alongside such a talented and driven group as the Bears,” she said (via BBC).
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Maher’s dancing partner on the recently concluded season of DWTS, Alen Bersten, congratulated the American on her move to the club and wrote:
Maher has played Rugby sevens for the majority of her career and was looking for a change before deciding to move to the English top flight. The 28-year-old was contacted by several clubs but decided to sign with the Bears, who played a crucial role in Maher becoming eligible for the rugby 15s after not having played it since 2021.
The two-time Olympian’s contract starts in January 2025 and runs through the remainder of the season, which concludes with the final on March 14th. Maher was excited to join the team and shared that her decision was also driven by the desire to play the 2025 World Cup.
“I am excited to join the Bristol Bears and put myself in the best position to earn a spot to represent USA in the 2025 Rugby World Cup alongside such a talented and driven group as the Bears,” she said (via BBC).
Maher’s dancing partner on the recently concluded season of DWTS, Alen Bersten, congratulated the American on her move to the club and wrote:
“Let’s go!!!!!!! I’m so proud of you. And can’t wait to see you kill it”
The pair impressed impressed during the 33rd season of Dancing With The Stars and earned great praise from judges and fans alike. They earned an incredible three perfect tens during the season but fell shot in the finale and finished as runner-up. While the Olympian was making her first appearance on the show, Bersten was making his ninth consecutive appearance having won the show in 2018.
Alen Bersten reacts to Ilona Maher’s signing with Bristol Bears (via Instagram)
Ilona Maher opens up on her reasons to join Premiership Women’s Rugby
Rugby Sevens – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Ilona Maher in action (Source: Getty)
Speaking with the Guardian in an interview, Ilona Maher shared that the desire to compete at the 2025 Rugby World Cup led her to join the Premiership Women’s Rugby. Both PWR and World Cup are played in rugby 15s format while the Olympics are in sevens. She said:
“I want to put myself in the best position to hopefully be selected for the World Cup.”
The 28-year-old further added that she wanted to try something different after spending the last six years of her life playing sevens in the USA.
“I think there are many reasons. I really love what the PWR is doing and I think I love their branding, I think that’s really cool. I have been in the USA sevens for six years now. So I wanted to try something different, go and live somewhere else, meet new people,” Ilona Maher added.
Maher, who plays as a utility back for Team USA, is expected to play in the center and wing for Bristol Bears.
