Dame Farah Palmer honoured for services to rugby

Former World Cup-winning Black Fern Dr Farah Palmer has been named a Dame for services to rugby in the New Years honours – and says she plans to devote energy in 2023 to lifting the status of Māori All Blacks rugby.

Dr Farah Palmer.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Born in Te Kuiti and raised in Piopio, Dr Palmer, of Ngāti Maniapoto, won three World Cups during a decorated playing career, before becoming the first woman elected to the New Zealand Rugby board.

She is also the first wāhine Māori deputy chair of an organisation long known as a bastion for male administrators.

Her mana is such that the national women’s domestic championship is named after her, with provinces annually competing for the Farah Palmer Cup.

Canterbury and Manawatu contest a Farah Palmer Cup provincial women’s match.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

While she has forged a reputation as an advocate for women’s rugby, Dr Palmer told RNZ she has a new cause in 2023 – probably her last on the NZR Board – pushing to have the Māori All Blacks recognised with international caps.

“It’s been a big kind of push for me to get women’s rugby acknowledged and recognised at the next level,” she said.

“And I want to see what I can do in the Māori rugby space. I’d love to look at capping the Māori All Blacks, and getting that initiated.”

The Māori All Blacks boast an enviable record against international opposition, cemented further when they won one of their two matches against a powerful touring Ireland side this year.

Dr Palmer says there needs to be a holistic approach to growing women’s and Māori rugby and believes there is still room for more administrators to represent those sectors.

“If you focus on just trying to get the participation up, that’s not enough. You need people around the decision-making tables and in influential roles.

“And of course you’re not going to even consider it an option unless you see it and be heard. That kind of message is strong for me.”

Dr Palmer, who also works for Sport New Zealand and is a lecturer at Massey University, said she was unsure whether to accept the damehood, but said the honour is recognition of more than just her individual efforts.

“It never feels completely comfortable to me. I don’t really like the limelight. I do things because I feel it’s helping others and that’s what drives me,” she said.

“I had to think long and hard about it but I decided that it was all those people that had gone before me – who didn’t get the recognition that they deserved – that I was representing.

“You’ve got to put yourself out there so that others can see something like this is possible and something that you should be proud of.

“This is something that I felt I wanted to do for my whānau and for other Māori women.”

– RNZ