English rugby will not be prepared for the impression American star Ilona Maher could have on the pitch, says Bristol Bears coach Dave Ward.
Maher, who received an Olympic sevens bronze medal in Paris in the summertime, begins a three-month cope with the Bears in January.
The 28-year-old is a big social media determine, with 4.5 million Instagram followers and three.2 million on TikTok, however Ward says that extra necessary to him is the brand new dimension Maher will add to his staff.
“She’s going to shock individuals when she performs 15s,” stated Ward.
“I believe she goes to be devastating. She is somebody with the tempo of [England and Ealing Trailfinders wing] Abby Dow, the scale of [England and Bristol second row] Abbie Ward, and a step.
“You’ve got obtained a improbable rugby participant there. She goes to be an enormous asset to our recreation and provides us a very completely different dynamic.
“Everybody is aware of concerning the social media following and that’s all nicely and good, however, from my perspective, we noticed a world-class rugby participant who needed to come back and play 15s and was searching for one of the best league and hopefully one of the best programme.
“That’s what we needed to symbolize.”
Maher, who appeared on US tv present Dancing With The Stars, will return residence for Christmas earlier than beginning coaching in earnest with Bristol within the new 12 months.
Nevertheless, she was concerned in a abilities periods along with her new team-mates on Monday and, regardless of having had 4 months away from the game, impressed Ward along with her passing, conditioning and enthusiasm.
