Ilona Maher gears up for Pacific Four Series finale against NZ Black Ferns

Olympic medalist Ilona Maher is back in action. The 28-year-old rugby player is all set for the final leg of the Pacific Four Series League 2025, which will be played against the Black Ferns, the women's rugby team of New Zealand.

Maher shared glimpses of the upcoming match against New Zealand, which will be held at the North Harbour Stadium in Albany, New Zealand, on Saturday, May 24. The rugby star also shared a selfie with Kiwi player Katelyn Vaha'akolo ahead of the match.

Maher posted in the caption of her Instagram story:

"@katelynvahaakolo ready to go for the weekend"

Screengrabs from Ilona Maher's Instagram stories [Image Source: Ilona Maher's Instagram/@ilonamaher]

Team USA hasn't performed well at the Pacific Four Series League, losing its league matches to Canada and Australia. The US will play for pride against New Zealand.

Maher earlier shared her perplexed reaction to a newspaper story about her popularity amongst her fans on her Instagram profile. The Olympic medalist wrote in the caption of her Instagram story:

"In the paper too?!"

Ilona Maher was previously a guest participant in the DWTS Live Tour. She also debuted at the Premiership Women's Rugby League, representing the Bristol Bears.

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Ilona Maher makes her feelings known on becoming 'America's sweetheart'

Ilona Maher with her fans during a match of the Pacific Four Series [Image Source: Getty]

Ilona Maher recently opened up about her ever-growing popularity as a rugby player in the USA. The Olympic medalist recently shot for the Swimsuit edition of the Sports Illustrated magazine.

In an interview with CNN, the 28-year-old Olympic bronze medalist opened up about how she felt about being 'America's sweetheart'.

“I love when people call me that because I feel like I’m maybe not the image you would have of a sweetheart in some sense of the word. I'm honored. This was kind of the trajectory I wanted it to take. I knew that in my sport, I wouldn’t just get to play my sport and be happy with it," she said.

"I knew that I had to do more to have a comfortable life for myself, to spread my game, to spread rugby in general. So for years now, I’ve been leading up to this point, hoping to do what I’ve done. And I’m so happy that this worked out like it did,” Maher added.

Ilona Maher had also participated in the 33rd season of the dance reality show 'Dancing with the Stars'. Teaming up with choreographer Alan Bersten, the rugby player danced her way to the top, missing the mirrorball trophy by a whisker as the dancing duo finished as runners-up.