Social media hit Ilona Maher takes women's rugby onto new plane

Paris: Ilona Maher transcends women s rugby, giving it a profile outside of the sport in the way that Mia Hamm did for women s football. Now the st...

Paris: Ilona Maher transcends women's rugby, giving it a profile outside of the sport in the way that Mia Hamm did for women's football.

Now the stage is set at the women's World Cup in England for the American to spark even more interest.

The 29-year-old phenomenon has attracted over eight million followers on social media, not only through her sporting exploits but also for her promotion of body positivity.

She played a pivotal role in the USA women's team winning a first ever Olympic medal, beating Australia in the third-place playoff in Paris last year.

On the back of that achievement, Maher featured in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition and appeared in the US version of hit TV show "Dancing with the Stars", finishing runner-up.