Millie David relishing learning from Ilona Maher

Millie David is nervous but ready to compete with the newest Bristol Bear Ilona Maher for a place on the wing.

David has gone from a young star to a sure starter in Bears’ XV and is the joint leading try-scorer in the Premiership Women’s Rugby with 11 so far this season. 

Her form means she retains her place on the wing for the visit of reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday - a rematch of last season's final - while Maher could make her eagerly-awaited debut from the bench having been named among the replacements.

“It is really cool to have Ilona come in, it is such a unique opportunity that we have,” the 19-year-old said.  

“She is great and she is so funny, but also I’m excited to play with her. She is such a strong and powerful runner. 

“For me, my main skillset is my speed but if I can learn some of her physicality and power and I can add it to my game too, then it will just help me even more. 

“You only get better if you are training with people that are better than you so I think it is great and it will push me to work even harder. 

“I’m very competitive, so is she, so it is good competition. It makes me nervous, but it is exciting as well and it is something to keep striving towards.” 

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Maher signed a three-month deal in December, briefly meeting her teammates ahead of the winter break before jetting back to her native US for Christmas. 

The social media sensation returned to the West Country to begin training full-time with the team this week as she strives towards a place in the USA Eagles’ Rugby World Cup squad. 

The sevens star is joining a host of internationals at Bristol, a set-up that David initially found intimidating when she joined from the Wasps Centre of Excellence in 2023. 

She added: “I had done a tiny amount of senior training at Wasps, whereas now it is so much more professional. 

“It is a top-four-quality team. Some of the players, like Holly Aitchison plays 10 for England so the amount of skill she has is amazing and I am the one receiving her passes. It is such a high standard. 

“And because everyone around me is of such great ability, it can only bring me up with them. 

“Coming here last season, it was my first season of senior rugby and it was quite intimidating to go from playing for your college to being in that Premiership environment with all of those experienced players. 

“It took a while to get some confidence, but each game I am getting better as I am getting more time with the ball against players of higher standards.” 

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Like David’s key strength, her rugby career has accelerated from zero to 100 during the 2024/25 campaign.

As well as leading the tries column, the utility back leads the stats for offloads and line-breaks and is second in metres made and defenders beaten.

It all makes positive reading for the mathematics student and England Under-20s player who has already staked her claim to play for the Red Roses at the 2029 Rugby World Cup in her dad’s homeland of Australia. 

But for now, her focus is on helping last season’s runners-up power into the top four, with their next challenge a crunch clash against the team who beat them in the showpiece in 2024. 

“It has been very chaotic,” she admitted. “Last season was a lot more gradual and all of a sudden it has gone from zero to 100. 

“I am really enjoying it and kind of just taking each game as it goes, and it is all great experience all the game time I get. I am still learning each week and growing, it is very exciting. 

“Pre-season was really helpful, I learnt a lot in such a short space of time. With all the internationals gone, it was nice to get more reps in and get some more confidence. 

“And then each game I kept being on the teamsheet, I never expected to get this much game time, especially after how slow last season was, it was a bit of a development stage for me. 

“I never expected it to go as well as it has.”