Olympic rugby bronze medalist Ilona Maher made her debut on the pitch in England on Sunday, Jan. 5 — and it resulted in the Bristol Bears having to change stadiums to accommodate her fans.

U.S. rugby star Ilona Maher made her debut for the Bristol Bears women’s team in front of a record home crowd of 9,240 fans on Sunday. But Maher, “ the most followed rugby player on the planet,” could not prevent Bristol from losing 40-17 to defending champion Gloucester-Hartpury in a Premiership Women’s Rugby match.

Ilona Maher's mission to grow rugby is far from done, and while she admits she loves being a "superstar" of the game, the United States star said the sport desperately needs to showcase more athletes to help take rugby union to new fans and audiences.