Ilona Maher changed the game as a rugby union star who’s also a social media phenomenon. With just shy of five million followers on Instagram and 240 million likes on TikTok, Maher has eclipsed the online fandom of Antoine Dupont, Siya Kolisi, and even the All Blacks.
During the Paris Olympics, Maher introduced a new audience to rugby union with candid content off the field in the Athletes Village. while also documenting the playing experience at those Games, with the USA going on to claim a famous bronze medal.
This writer saw numerous videos on TikTok of Maher’s on-field excellence, with users using Chappell Roan’s ‘Femininomenon’ to accompany the clips. New fans of rugby were suddenly glued to the theatre of the sport, and Maher has continued to have that impact ever since.
The importance of social media for modern rugby players has never been clearer. That’s not to say that everyone must reach the heights that Maher has on any platform, but rather social media has become a tool for athletes to inspire by taking fans behind the scenes of their day-to-day lives.
Black Fern Katelyn Vahaakolo has done just that across the ditch in New Zealand, and Wallaby Carlo Tizzano is the latest to give social media a red-hot crack. With almost 9,000 likes on TikTok and 6,368 followers on Instagram, Tizzano is challenging himself for the greater rugby good.
With more than 18,6000 views on a video with the caption, ‘Want to improve your breakdown’ and numerous other clips of the Wallaby in the weight room, Tizzano is making a difference for himself, the Western Force, and Australian rugby as a whole.
“If I look at rugby as a whole, I think there’s not enough people putting content out there. I want to keep growing the game as much as possible,” Tizzano told RugbyPass at the Super Rugby Pacific season launch in Sydney.
“By us putting out content [as] rugby players, people want to see that and that’s just going to grow the game even more, and in Australia, that’s all I want to do, especially Western Australia. I want to keep growing the Western Force brand, keep growing my own brand because then that grows the Western Force brand.
“There’s not enough of that in the game.
@carlotizzanoAfter the 2024 Super Rugby season, I weighed 94kg. The feedback I received was that I needed to pack on some size. With some time off, I used that period to focus on weight gain—and in just 2 months, I hit 101kg while staying strong and mobile. Here’s exactly what I did: 1️⃣ Decrease Output, Increase Input: Cut back on cardio and ate more calories daily. For example, I went from 4 eggs to 6 at breakfast. 2️⃣ Lift Heavy + Speed Work: Kept my strength up and worked on my sprinting efficiency. Shoutout to @cole 3️⃣ 2 High-Cal Protein Shakes Daily: One post-gym, one before bed. 4️⃣ Stay Organised with Meals: Always had snacks and prepped meals ready. Adding calories wherever you can. 5️⃣ Creatine: Helped with strength and recovery. 6️⃣ High-Quality Sleep and Muzz time: Recovery starts in bed. Muzz time = burn less calories. 7️⃣ Gym Finishers: Added tough finishers after upper and lower body days to give myself a little hypertrophy hit. 8️⃣ Leaning on Professionals: Worked with S&C coaches and dietitian’s to refine strategies and gain new ideas. Small changes, big results. Consistency is key!? Toosie Slide – Drake
“I just thought, ‘You know what, I’m not going to fall under the imposter syndrome.’ I get shredded, [the Force] boys shred me about it but to be honest it’s worth it because I’ve got a lot of younger guys messaging me saying, ‘Oh this is so good, thank you so much’ or, ‘What do you think about doing this’ or ‘I’m a young backrower, what would you do to put weight on.’
“I love helping. Anything I can do to help the younger generation coming through, especially [Western Australia] I’m willing to do.
“I’m trying to not be too cringe but it’s good, I really enjoy doing it. It’s just another tool in the tool shed type of thing.”
Tizzano’s most successful video on social media documents how the backrower gained seven kilograms in two months. With the video showing the 25-year-old squatting an impressive amount of weight, Tizzano has included eight steps for others to follow.
Users can also see what the Super Rugby Pacific season launch was like in Sydney’s Little Bay last week and also see Tizzano wrestling with Will Eggleston to prepare for the new season, which for the Force starts at home against Moana Pasifika.
“I’m just making it up as I go. I don’t watch TikTok at all or Insta Reels, I try to stay off my phone as much as possible so it’s a bit of trial and error,” Tizzano explained.
“It’s good to put myself out there and put myself in an uncomfortable position because usually I won’t feel too comfortable doing that stuff.
“The fans of rugby want to see more behind the scenes stuff of players doing that stuff. I’d be cool to see more players do that because I’d love to see what Rob Valetini does behind the scenes because I’m telling you something right now, you can’t play week-in, week-out the way he does without doing something pretty special behind the scenes. He does a lot of hard work behind the scenes and people want to see that.”
@stansportau No, that’s not an extra small shirt! Carlo Tizzano has been bulking up for all the right reasons ahead of Season 2025 🏋️♂️ ? Super Rugby Pacific. Kicks off 14 February. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand. #StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific #Rugby #RugbyUnion #RugbyTok #CarloTizzano #WesternForce ? original sound – Stan Sport
Tizzano was the top tackler in Super Rugby last season by quite some margin, with Dalton Papali’i clocking in at second place even though the Blues made it to the big dance and the Force missed out on the playoffs completely.
Following an injury to Fraser McReight, Tizzano debuted in Wallaby gold during The Rugby Championship and went on to impress during a series of starts. After ticking off that goal of playing international rugby, Tizzano has set his sights on more Tests this year.
“The goal for me has always been, I’m very planned orientated, and when I was 16 I said, Okay I want to be a Wallaby, this is what I want to do, this is how I’m going to do it and put a plan, step by step process on what I needed to do to get there.
“Now that I’ve become a Wallaby so at the end of the Spring Tour it was a pretty cool moment to restructure my plan and my goals to the future and basically now for me, my biggest motivation is not only making history with the Western Force and playing Super Rugby finals but also that would then lead to me not being a one-year Wallaby, I want to be a multi-year Wallaby.”
