Ilona Maher recently opened up about helping a lady during a medical emergency, going about chasing rugby over her nursing degree. She shared a sweet message for her mother, Mieneke Maher, while sharing the incident.
Maher was last seen in action in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup pool in August and September 2026. Representing the USA Eagles, she competed in three pool matches. Currently, she is not active on a professional roster; however, she is actively supporting her team and is scheduled to appear at a watch party in Chicago for the US vs. Canada matchup on Friday.
Amid this, she recently opened up about putting her nursing degree to use during a medical emergency in her gym. Taking to her Instagram story, she opened up about the incident, stating that her nursing degree finally paid off. Penning a sweet message for her mother, she wrote:
“Just helped a lady at my gym in a medical emergency. That four years of nursing school, probably 10,000 multiple choice questions, hundreds of clinical hours, and thousands of dollars of student loans finally paid off. I hope you’re proud @mienekemaher.”
She further posted a video joking about choosing rugby over her nursing degree, saying:
“I would have been a great nurse, but I was like, oh, I guess I’ll go to two Olympics. No, I’d say my bedside manner was like probably top of the class, no doubt. A tonne of hospitals wanted me, all the best ones. All the best ones wanted me, but I was like, no. I’m just going to go play a little, play a little ball. I mean, I was getting looked at to be like nurse practitioner, doctor type, you know. I was watching the pit and I was like, nah, that’s easy, man. Like, I could have done that.”
Maher earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Quinnipiac University. She balanced her studies and 12-hour clinical shifts while pursuing her elite rugby career. She also has a license but hasn’t worked professionally yet, to pursue rugby.
Ilona Maher opened up about how she found rugby as her perfect fit and spoke about body image
In March, Ilona Maher appeared at the 2026 IMPACT Symposium, where she weighed in on her rugby journey, stating that the sport felt like a natural fit for her. In addition to this, she spoke about her thoughts on body image, highlighting how women should embrace their bodies and acknowledge their strengths.
“I remember the first time on the field, like I automatically felt like I knew [the sport], and it just fit my body like a glove. I was tackling, I was scoring tries and I just loved the feeling of it,” said Ilona Maher.
Talking about body positivity, she added:
“Honestly, I am still learning how to love my body and what it can do for me. Even though I’ve been on covers of Sports Illustrated and am an Olympic athlete, I still have those days where I question myself. I always grew up [as] the bigger girl, and so I never understood why I looked the way I did. I was like, ‘Why am I so big, and I’m faster than this girl?’ It honestly wasn’t until I got to college when I started to see a little more of the beauty of myself, and it wasn’t really until afterwards, with rugby, with my teammates around me, that I really saw that ‘Oh, my body, though, not the typical definition of dainty, is still very beautiful, and it can do such amazing things.’”
Ilona Maher recently slammed Quinnipiac University for the shocking cut of the decorated women’s rugby team.
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