Viral Olympic star Ilona Maher joins English rugby team - here are the best reactions

US rugby star Ilona Maher has made the big move across the pond to sign for theBristol Bears.

In a new TikTok video, the 28-year-old sported the Bristol Bears kit as she shared the news of her move to the Premiership Women's Rugby league at the home of the Bear in Ashton Gate Stadium.

"I heard this was bear country," Maher said, as she then jokingly asked if there were any real bears around.

"I'm so excited to join the Bristol Bears and play Premiership Women's rugby with and against some of the best rugby players in the world," she added, as she then asked if the weather was always going to be this "chilly".

The rugby player concluded, "I'm looking forward to calling Bristol home as we gear up for the Rugby World Cup 2025 played here in England," as she hopes to play for the United States at the tournament.

Afterwards, she then asked if she could "get a roast" - clearly settling into British life well already...

Maher became a viral sensation at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 when she posted videos of the Olympic Village which had Covid restrictions in place at the time and went on to share her experience at the Paris Olympics this summer where she took home a bronze medal as part of the women's rugby sevens team.

During this time she has amassed a strong following online with over 3.3m followers on TikTok and 4.6m followers on Instagram. She posts content ranging from her career as a rugby player as well as using her platform to promote body positivity.

Following her success at the Paris Olympics, Maher was on the latest season of Dancing with the Star (the US version of Strictly Come Dancing) where she was the runner-up with her dance partner Alan Bersten.

The announcement video has since received more than 4.2m views, and fans in the comments are excited for Maher's new career move.

One person said: "Guess I’m a Bristol Bears fan now".

"She has already got the British humour down, she’ll suit the UK sm," another person wrote.

Someone else added: "This is the Ted Lasso spin-off we were waiting for".

"*immediately asks husband if his sports packages will include Bristol Bears and if not fix it*" a fourth person commented.

While on X, formerly Twitter, people welcomed the news of Maher's arrival to the UK.

Elsewhere, the best athletes at the Paris Olympics to follow on TikTok.

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