USA rugby team ft. Ilona Maher witnesses record-breaking attendance during Pacific Four series

The USA women’s national rugby team, the Women’s Eagles, faced off against Canada on Friday, May 2, at CPKC Stadium, with Ilona Maher among the players on the pitch. The match broke the record for the highest attendance at a women’s rugby game in the US, drawing 10,518 fans to the stadium.

The match was closely contested, but the USA lost to Canada in the match, 14-26, despite their strong defense. The women’s Eagles had strong players, including Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirsche, Alex Sedrick, and Iloha Maher.

ESPNW shared a post in collaboration with Alev Kelter, Ilona Maher, and USA Rugby, celebrating the new attendance record for women's rugby games in the US. The city’s passion for professional sports led to a record-breaking attendance at the match. CPKC Stadium is the first in the world built specifically for a professional women's sports team.

The post was captioned:

"HISTORY MADE IN WOMEN’S RUGBY 👏🏉USA and Canada have set the new attendance record for a women’s rugby game in the United States. The match took place at CPKC stadium - the first in the world to be purpose-built for women’s sports."

Ilona Maher represented Team USA in Rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics, helping the team win its bronze medal. She began playing at 17 and was a three-time NIRA All-American and received the MA Sorensen Award in 2017. She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NIRA Championships in 2018 and also represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 2025 Pacific Four Series will take place from May 2 to 24, featuring USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The United States and Canada played their first match on May 2. Australia and New Zealand will play their next match on May 10, followed by New Zealand against Canada, and Australia against the USA on May 17. Australia will play against Canada on May 23, and the series will conclude on May 24, with the match between New Zealand and the USA.

This tournament will help all teams to get ready for the Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.

---

“The hate will continue, but I’ll keep fighting”: Ilona Maher opens up about online abuse

Ilona Maher before the Premiership Women's Rugby match - Source: Getty

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ihona Maher recalled the body-shaming comments she faced and how she chose to block and stand up against them.

“The abuse is constant, I don’t think it will ever stop. What’s so great is that I play a sport with amazing women who know and make me feel good about myself. I have friends and family around me. It’s never going to stop, and even in rugby, we get that constantly.

She further added:

There are the comments, ‘Why would I watch the women’s game?’ I get comments about just being the Instagrammer and ‘She’s not good at rugby’. It’s going to be constant. It’s about blocking them out and continuing to promote my message. The hate will continue to come, but I’ll continue to fight it off.”

Ilona Maher has around 5 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million on TikTok. She partnered with Alan Bersten and finished second in the 33rd season of DWTS.