Ilona Maher becomes rugby's most followed player on Instagram

Kylie, who is a former college field hockey player and is married to Jason was also pictured with Maher on the rugby star’s Instagram story with the caption: “Great to finally meet you @kykelce. Tell the girls [Kylie and Jason’s daughters Wyatt, Elliotte, and Bennett] I will be their personal rugby coach if they want to play”.

The Kelces spent time with the USA women’s sevens team after day one of their competition and were also spotted in the stands supporting the field hockey team the night before. Jason’s brother Travis plays for Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs, where Welsh rugby to American football convert Louis Rees-Zammit is also on the books.

Day one of the women's sevens saw a record women's crowd set as 66,000 people witnessed the opening matches. The USA go into day two second in Pool C and will face host nation France, who currently top the pool, before the placing matches are decided.

Other social media content from Maher over the Paris 2024 Olympics so far has included humorous TikTok videos of life in the Olympic Village, or Villa, as she has dubbed it. She’s also posted a video with Snoop Dogg, and had content reposted by singer Olivia Rodrigo after using one of her songs.

Maher uses her platform to create humorous and trending videos, but also promotes women’s rugby and is a passionate advocate for women’s sport and body positivity. She has the words “Beast Beauty Brains” in her Instagram bio, the same slogan which is on much of her merchandise.

The multi-talented athlete made the switch to rugby aged 17 after playing field hockey, basketball, and softball at high school. She cites her father’s involvement in growing the sport at Saint Michael's College as the beginning of her knowledge of the game.

In 2017 she received the MA Sorensen Award for National Player of the Year. The award is named after MaryAnn Sorensen who was a trailblazer in collegiate women's rugby, World Cup winner in 1991, and doctor. She has been at the presentation of the award since its inception in 2016, when it was first won by Hope Rogers.

The accolade, given to the best collegiate women’s rugby player in the country, was most recently won by Lindenwood University's Freda Tafuna. Earlier this year, Tafuna became the first American XVs player to score in consecutive tests against the Black Ferns when she crossed the whitewash against them in the Pacific Four Series.

Away from rugby and social media, Maher is a registered nurse and graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in nursing in 2018.