American Olympic bronze medallist Ilona Maher might seem on this season’s Premiership Girls’s Rugby after the Rugby Soccer Union stated it had supported her visa software.
In a coup for the English ladies’s top-flight, sevens star Maher is probably the most adopted social media star in rugby union with 4.5m Instagram followers and three.2m followers on Tiktok.
The RFU has instructed BBC Sport it has offered ‘governing physique endorsement’ for Maher in assist of her visa software to play in England.
It stays to be seen which membership she is going to signal for, however she has reportedly, exterior been in talks with each Bristol Bears and Gloucester-Hartpury.
Having just lately completed as runner-up within the US model of Strictly Come Dancing – Dancing with the Stars – it means the 28-year-old might be a part of a membership and resume her XVs profession forward of the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
On Friday, Maher teased her return to rugby by posting a highlights reel on her Instagram, exterior with a subtitled query: “Is it about time I get again to the pitch?”
Maher is established in sevens however solely has two caps for the USA XVs aspect from 2021.
This might not often enable her to play within the PWR beneath the ‘worldwide sportsperson route’ as she would have wanted to play for the USA XVs aspect within the final 24 months.
Nonetheless, the RFU instructed BBC Sport: “The RFU offered the governing physique endorsement for Ilona Maher in assist of her visa software to play in England.
“Our governing physique endorsement standards offers that any candidates have to be ‘internationally established [and] whose employment will make a major contribution to the event of their sport on the highest stage within the UK’.
“The standards offered a route for entry on the time of the applying.”
Talking solely to BBC Sport, PWR chair Genevieve Shore confirmed that Maher might play within the PWR this season.
“We wish one of the best gamers on the earth enjoying within the PWR, I believe the RFU sound like they’ve made a superb choice,” stated Shore.
The 2-time Olympian helped the USA sevens staff to a bronze medal on the 2024 Paris Video games.
The 2024-25 sevens sequence is beneath method in Dubai and the USA Sevens aspect are with out Maher, who has expressed a need to deal with XVs in 2025 with a view to competing within the Rugby World Cup in England.
