American rugby player Ilona Maher was recently spotted cheering for the Canadian rugby team at the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025. It was during Canada's semifinal game of the tournament against New Zealand on September 19 at Ashton Gate. The Canadian side eventually won the semifinal game by a margin of 34-19 to reach the finals. They will next face England in the finals, who are coming at the back off a 35-17 victory against France in the semifinals. During this semifinal game, Maher was seen in attendance at Ashton Gate as she cheered passionately for the Canadian side. In an Instagram post, the American rugby player can be seen in a white t-shirt and denim. The caption of the post remarked (via The Daily W Sports):"ONE OF US! ONE OF US!" Here is the video: View this post on Instagram Instagram PostNotably, Ilona Maher and the US team were eliminated from the group stages of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 after finishing third in their group behind England and Australia. In the three group stage matches, the USA managed just one victory against Samoa. Ilona Maher sheds light on her feelings of being recognized as an athlete Ilona Maher (Image via: Getty)Ilona Maher made her feelings known about being recognized in her nation as a professional athlete. The American rugby player revealed that she takes immense pride in being recognized as an athlete in the United States. Additionally, Maher also shared honestly that in her sport, it isn't enough to just be a rugby player, and therefore, she has to do a lot of other external endeavors for the financial aspect of the game. She said (via AP News): "It’s important (to me) to be known as an athlete, especially in America. We love athletes. We think athletes are the top of the top. I’m proud to be an athlete, it’s something that I’ve always kind of really associated with my sense of self." "If I could, I would just be an athlete, but ... I’m not going to make money being an athlete. So as a female rugby player I have to do so much more off the field and it gets to the point where it’s almost like you have to do (rugby) more for passion." During the conversation, Ilona Maher also remarked that in her sport, she is constantly under the radar for getting injured due to the nature of the sport.