Bern, who won her first England cap in 2016, cited American centre Ilona Maher’s spell at Bristol Bears earlier this year with helping her see the value in using her profile online.
Maher is the most followed rugby player in the world on social media with more than 8.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok and has built a profile on messages of body positivity, which has propelled her to global star status.
She signed with the Bears for three months from January to March to play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby.
“She [Maher] was with her family and her energy and how she managed to get her social media alongside her being a professional athlete, I found it really cool and like it wasn’t a big task,” Bern said.
“Especially for women’s rugby, we need more fan engagement. We need more fans. We need to grow our sport – what’s the best way to do that? Well, show ourselves.
“Now I like really love it and I just relish it and I actually think it’s really helped me to be less anxious and just be myself.”
