Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher takes her talents and following to UK rugby

The GIST: Rugby star Ilona Maher has steadily built a social media following, and when her talents — and persona — were on full display at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her rising star turned supernova. Since then, Maher’s golden touch has brought increased attention to Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) and, most recently, U.K. rugby’s Bristol Bears. Let’s review the Maher Effect.

The following: The world’s most-followed rugby player, Maher boasts over 7M social media followers, including 4.7M on Instagram — a dramatic 648% jump from pre-Olympics. Maher’s relatable content caught on in Paris, and afterward, she joined DWTS alongside fellow Olympic sensation (and friend of The GIST) Stephen Nedoroscik — a rite of passage for popular Olympians.

• Post-Olympics, Maher’s jersey outsold all rugby players on World Rugby Shop, a first for the online rugby retailer. Hooked.

The rugby deal: On December 2nd, the Bristol Bears — a top-flight Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby team — signed Maher to a three-month contract starting in January. Maher, who has typically played rugby sevens, is joining the traditional rugby union squad in the sport’s epicenter. For Maher, it’s a play for a Team USA 15s spot ahead of the 2025 World Cup set in England.

The effect: Since Maher’s signing, the Bears’ Instagram following has nearly tripled, jumping from 25K to over 63.7K, with her announcement video racking up 6.7M views. The team’s apparel site crashed following her signing, and replicas are selling like hotcakes.

• To handle all the newfound attention, the Bears are hiring a three-month social media manager during her contract period, and the team has already moved its January 5th game from the women’s 2K-seater home arena to 27K-seater Ashton Gate, the home pitch for the men’s club.

Zooming out: While Maher is shaking up the U.K. team, she’s not expected to shake up the roster: They plan to use her ASAP, but Maher herself has admitted she’s not the world’s best rugby player. Yet, Maher believes her personality brings something to the table, and she’s not wrong. If the above numbers are any indication, a team can benefit financially from having her on the squad.

• With women and Gen Z athletes distinctly wielding power as influencers, programs sometimes benefit from having a popular athlete, even if not a top-ranked one — think LSU’s Livvy Dunne, Miami’s Cavinder Twins, or even the LA Lakers’ Bronny James.

• Perhaps a more apt example is newly-signed Juventus forward Alisha Lehmann, a solid soccer player who’s a social media unicorn in her own right. Magic equals madness.