Ilona Maher has become one of the most recognizable faces in women's rugby in the United States and wider, thanks to her heroics at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She won a bronze medal with Team USA and was also hailed for her funny and relatable personality off the pitch and empowering posts, shining a light on body positivity. We love to see it. Now she's gearing up for the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, taking place across England.
Though her rugby journey started when she was 17, she went on to win three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association championships as a college player at Quinnipac College. She graduated from the college in 2018 with a degree in nursing.
More recently, Maher had a short stint at Bristol Bears at the beginning of 2025 on a three-month contract. The traction to watch the team’s latest signing from the States was so big that the game had to be moved from the team’s regular home ground of Shaftesbury Park to Ashton Gate to accommodate a larger crowd.
Her brief time at Bristol gave her the key experience she needed in the 15s format, after playing Rugby Sevens at the Olympics. And now it's official, Maher has been included in the USA's 32-player squad for the World Cup.
More Women's Rugby World Cup News
- Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Schedule
- How to get tickets to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
- How to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in the US
This year will be the 10th edition of the competition, but don’t worry if you’re not going to be travelling across the Atlantic to catch our ladies in action in person, because you can still watch all the games live throughout August and September. Let GOAL tell you everything you need to know about how you can catch every USA game.
How to watch Ilona Maher at the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025
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CBS Sports and Paramount+ are the exclusive home of rugby in the United States until at least 2029, including the next three Rugby World Cups. CBS Sports will provide unprecedented multi-platform rugby coverage across linear and streaming, and Paramount+ will stream every Rugby World Cup match and all the USA Rugby National Team’s World Rugby matches.
Paramount+ offers two subscription plans: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, which is ad-free (except for live TV):
- Paramount+ Essential: This plan includes access to a vast library of movies and shows, live sports like NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League, and 24/7 live news with CBS News. It also includes some ads. This plan costs $7.99/month or $59.99/year.
- Paramount+ with SHOWTIME: This plan includes everything in the Essential plan plus the entire SHOWTIME library, ad-free viewing (except for live TV and a few shows), and the ability to download shows to your mobile device. This plan costs $12.99/month or $119.99/year.
For fans looking to catch the Women’s Rugby World Cup on CBS Sports and tag it onto a great sports package, Fubo is one of the best streaming services around. Fubo packages start from $84.99 a month, and they offer all-inclusive free 7-day trials before you pay. Fubo’s massive streaming plans carry up to 200+ channels, and you can get even more depending on your location.
Team USA Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 schedule
Team USA has three pool fixtures to kick off the tournament, where they will be facing England, Australia, and Samoa. They take on England in the opening match of the tournament at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland to kick things off.
| Date | Fixture | Kick-off (ET) | Watch | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Aug 22 | Pool A - England vs USA | 2:30 pm | CBS | Paramount+/Fubo |
| Sat Aug 30 | Pool A – USA vs Australia | 2:30 pm | CBS | Paramount+/Fubo |
| Sat Sep 6 | Pool A – USA vs Samoa | 8:30 am | CBS | Paramount+/Fubo |
Who else is playing at the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025?
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- Pool A: United States, England, Samoa, Australia
- Pool B: Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji
- Pool C: New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain
- Pool D: France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil