Latest news with #TabuaTuinakauvadra
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Australia beats Ilona Maher-led US team in women's rugby international
Ilona Maher, right, of the U.S. women's Eagles is tackled by Tabua Tuinakauvadra Australia during their Pacific Four rugby union match in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher, right, of the U.S. women's Eagles is is watched by Australia's Layne Morgan during their Pacific Four rugby union match in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Fans of Ilona Maher of the U.S. women's Eagles display their appreciation before the Pacific Four rugby union match Between the U.S. and Australia in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher of the U.S. women's Eagles is looks on during their Pacific Four rugby union match against Australia in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher of the U.S. women's Eagles is looks on during their Pacific Four rugby union match against Australia in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher, right, of the U.S. women's Eagles is tackled by Tabua Tuinakauvadra Australia during their Pacific Four rugby union match in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher, right, of the U.S. women's Eagles is is watched by Australia's Layne Morgan during their Pacific Four rugby union match in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Fans of Ilona Maher of the U.S. women's Eagles display their appreciation before the Pacific Four rugby union match Between the U.S. and Australia in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Ilona Maher of the U.S. women's Eagles is looks on during their Pacific Four rugby union match against Australia in Canberra, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Despite all the pre-match hype over the world's most-famous rugby player, Ilona Maher wasn't able to help her American team beat Australia on Saturday in a Pacific Four match. Australia led 19-14 at halftime and went on to beat the U.S. 27-19 in the match at Canberra stadium. Advertisement Maher was by far the most popular player on either side in the game which preceded a men's Super Rugby match between the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds as part of a doubleheader. If anyone needed persuading about the popularity angle, Australian backrower Tabua Tuinakauvadra provided it. "I've been talking to my friends about this,' Tuinakauvadra said ahead of the match. "This is the first game they're coming to watch me play rugby, but they're coming to watch Ilona first.' Maher played recently on a short-term deal for the Bristol Bears in England. It was the second loss in a row for the Americans in the tournament and the first win for Australia. In opening matches, New Zealand beat Australia 38-12 in Newcastle north of Sydney, while Canada defeated the U.S. 26-14 in Kansas City. Advertisement The 28-year-old Maher helped lead the U.S. to the bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics. But the Vermont native has returned to the 15-a-side game in hopes of boosting her chances of making the U.S. team for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in England. Maher is the most followed rugby player on social media and her three-month contract at Bristol brought significant attention to the English league. Maher has more than eight million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. She also was a runner-up on the 'Dancing With The Stars' TV show. ___ AP rugby:
Associated Press
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Australia beats Ilona Maher-led US team in women's rugby international
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Despite all the pre-match hype over the world's most-famous rugby player, Ilona Maher wasn't able to help her American team beat Australia on Saturday in a Pacific Four match. Australia led 19-14 at halftime and went on to beat the U.S. 27-19 in the match at Canberra stadium. Maher was by far the most popular player on either side in the game which preceded a men's Super Rugby match between the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds as part of a doubleheader. If anyone needed persuading about the popularity angle, Australian backrower Tabua Tuinakauvadra provided it. 'I've been talking to my friends about this,' Tuinakauvadra said ahead of the match. 'This is the first game they're coming to watch me play rugby, but they're coming to watch Ilona first.' Maher played recently on a short-term deal for the Bristol Bears in England. It was the second loss in a row for the Americans in the tournament and the first win for Australia. In opening matches, New Zealand beat Australia 38-12 in Newcastle north of Sydney, while Canada defeated the U.S. 26-14 in Kansas City. The 28-year-old Maher helped lead the U.S. to the bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics. But the Vermont native has returned to the 15-a-side game in hopes of boosting her chances of making the U.S. team for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in England. Maher is the most followed rugby player on social media and her three-month contract at Bristol brought significant attention to the English league. Maher has more than eight million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. She also was a runner-up on the 'Dancing With The Stars' TV show. ___ AP rugby:
ABC News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Wallaroos set to face rugby superstar Ilona Maher in Pacific Four clash
There are not many times when, in Australia, the Australian national team might not be the biggest drawcard on show. And yet this weekend, as the Wallaroos welcome the USA to Canberra for their Pacific Four clash, there will likely be a significant number of people in the stands there to watch one player — and she is not Australian. "I've been talking to my friends about this," Wallaroos backrower Tabua Tuinakauvadra told a press conference in Canberra on Thursday. "This is the first game they're coming to watch me play rugby, but they're coming to watch Ilona first." Ilona is American star Ilona Maher, and it is not necessarily a surprise that the casual fan wants to see her play. With 4.9 million Instagram followers, Maher has the highest social media following of any active rugby player. That's right: more than the next-most-popular French superstar Antoine Dupont (1.2 million) and trailblazing South African skipper Siya Kolisi (1.4 million) combined. To put it into even more perspective, you could add the England rugby team (1.5 million) and the Wallabies' (493,000) Instagram followers to that tally and still not have as many as the 28-year-old from Vermont. "It's that visibility," Tuinakauvadra said. "She's got such a great reach, she's such a personality off the field. "It's what's drawn a lot of people to the game and lots of people have gotten into the game because of her, and lots of people will come and watch because of her. "The more people we can reach, the more people we can inspire is all better for the game." It is not just for her rugby that Maher has found her following. She competed on Dancing with the Stars and became the first woman to lift her partner during a dance — living by the mantra she tells to her 3.5 million followers on TikTok: Beast. Beauty. Brains. That was also the headline of the piece when she appeared in Sports Illustrated in 2024. A big part of Maher's message is that it is important to be comfortable in your own skin. On the House of Maher podcast she does with her sisters Olivia and Adrianna she has said this is why she wears lipstick in games. "I've always just found that, being put in that box of being a rugby player, you have to be big and masculine … I've never liked that I was told to be this certain way when I played sport," Maher said. "It's us taking back our own narrative and saying, like, an 'f you' to those who think that we have to leave our beauty and femininity at the door when we play this tough sport." After winning bronze with the USA in Paris — at the expense of the Australian team — Maher has made the switch to the 15s game. As part of that, she completed a short stint with Bristol in the UK, proving so popular that games needed to be moved to Ashton Gate stadium to accommodate the record crowds that flocked to see her. "I love being a superstar," Maher told The Guardian earlier this year, following her Bristol stint. "People call me the superstar of rugby but that's not enough for the sport. We can't just have one superstar." The rugby public may have anointed her as the queen of women's rugby, but that is translating to big crowds too, with women in particular attending matches. "In men's sports, you have a lot of male fans, especially in rugby. It's a boys' club. You have a lot of old men going to their team's game," she said in Bristol. "Can we now get more women buying our jerseys and coming to our games? Women have power, women have influence and they're a good fanbase to have." Playing at outside centre last week against Canada, a match the USA lost 14-26, Maher will line up again in Canberra and have another chance to help grow the game with a big crowd in attendance. Tuinakauvadra said Maher's presence was key and that by having women athletes show their personalities to a wider audience, the sport could only grow. "The more we can get ourselves out there and show that we're humans first and athletes second, it's something that definitely appeals," Tuinakauvadra said. "Not only to people coming up but people that just flick on the TV and the rugby will be on. "If you can recognise that we are individuals as well, it's something that will definitely pull more people into watching and supporting us. "I think it's such an exciting time to be an athlete and a woman playing sport right now."
