Ilona Maher becomes rugby's most followed player on Instagram

USA sevens star and social media personality Ilona Maher became the most-followed rugby player on Instagram on Sunday when she surpassed current player Siya Kolisi and former All Black Sonny Bill Williams, who both have 1.3 million followers.

Maher reached the one million mark on Friday, and surpassed Rugby World Cup-winning captain Kolisi only three days later. She currently has 1.4 million followers.

Olympic gold medallist Antoine Dupont also reached one million followers over that time period but is yet to surpass the heights reached by Maher and Kolisi.

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She is currently competing at her second Olympic Games, and balances rugby with her ever-growing role on social media, with a further 1.5 million followers and over 100 million likes on TikTok.

The 27-year-old rose to fame online ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when she provided insight into life in the Olympic village.

The USA opened their 2024 Games with wins over Japan and Brazil, Maher scoring in both after a series of barnstorming carries.

In attendance were former NFL player Jason Kelce and Kylie Kelce, who both featured on Maher’s social media after the day’s action.

In a video with former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason who retired in March 2024, Maher asks him if he will be their ‘super fan’, citing Flavor Flav’s support for the USA water polo team.

 

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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.