Ilona Maher: Supports rebel rugby leagues, but demands fair pay

The American rugby star, Ilona Maher, has expressed her opinion on the possibility of separate rugby leagues being beneficial for the sport, but warned organizers about the need to remunerate the players fairly. Maher and the United States team are preparing to face England in the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Sunderland. Although Maher’s attention is focused on the field of play, the emergence of potential separate leagues is expected to be a recurring theme during the tournament, which will showcase the best female talent.

Maher revealed that she has been contacted on numerous occasions about new initiatives, but emphasized her desire to see concrete results.

The number of times I receive emails saying ‘we have a new league in development.’ That’s great. Let’s get started then and start paying these players fairly and according to their value.

Ilona Maher

Furthermore, Maher highlighted the importance of his value, which goes beyond his performance on the field, including his impact off it.

The most prominent separate league at present is R360, with plans to launch the renewed tournament in September 2026. Sources indicate that Maher is one of the main candidates to lead the women’s league. The player is the most followed on social media, both in men’s and women’s rugby, with 5.2 million followers on Instagram and 3.6 million on TikTok. Maher also advocates for more players to show their personality on social media and for new leagues to value their impact.