Dame Farah Rangikoepa Palmer (born 27 November 1972) is a professor at Massey University and a former captain of New Zealand's women's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team, the

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tourname ...

Youth and early career

Palmer was born in Te Kuiti,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and raised in Piopio. While at primary and secondary school, Palmer played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

competitively, and also participated in athletics, swimming, tennis, and cross-country. Although she had played rugby socially before, Palmer started playing regularly after she moved to

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

to study physical education. She joined the University club in 1992 and that year played her first match for Otago. By 1994 she was playing regularly for Otago. Originally a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

, she changed to hooker.*

National team

Palmer first played for New Zealand on 31 August 1996 against Australia in Sydney—a match won 28–5. That year she was also appointed Otago captain, and became the captain of the Black Ferns in 1997 with a 67–0 win over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1997, Palmer moved temporarily to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and played for

Waikato University club Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula ...

as well as representing

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

. She moved back to Dunedin in 1998 where she played for Alhambra Union. That year she captained the Black Ferns to victory in the

1998 Women's Rugby World Cup The 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup was the first world cup fully sanctioned by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the third Women's Rugby World Cup in history. The tournament took place in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands and was the first women's ...

. That year she was awarded Women's Player of the Year by the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

. She completed her PhD in 2000, and in 2001 moved to

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

to take up a position in sports management at Massey University. There she joined the

Kia Toa Kia Toa RFC is a constituent club in the Manawatu province for rugby in New Zealand. It is at the Palmerston North Bowling Club on Linton Street and is one of the oldest clubs in the Manawatu. Kia Toa is a Māori term, which can be translated ...

rugby club. Palmer continued to captain the Black Ferns and led them to a second World Championship in 2002. In 2005, she missed her first match for the Black Ferns since 1996 due to injury. That year she was awarded International Women's Personality of the Year by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...

(IRB). Representing Manawatu, she helped them earn promotion to the national women's championship in 2006, and that year captained the Black Ferns in her third World Cup. After defeating England 25–17 in the final of the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

Palmer announced her retirement from playing. During her time as captain the Black Ferns lost only once, and her 35 Tests for the Black Ferns is the second only to

Anna Richards Anna Mary Richards (born 3 December 1964) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. She represented at four World Cups — 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010. Richards played representative tennis and netball before debuting for the Black Ferns on ...

' 49.

Recognition

Palmer was one of six women inducted into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

on 17 November 2014. In 2016, the Women's Provincial Championship was renamed the

Farah Palmer Cup The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016), is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. This contest is hel ...

in her honour. In 2016, she was awarded the '' Manawatu Standard'' Person of the Year award and was the first woman to win the award. Also in 2016, she was the first woman to be appointed to the board of New Zealand Rugby. In 2018, Palmer won the Board and Management Award of the 2018 Women of Influence Awards. In 2022, she was awarded the Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service. In the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Palmer was promoted to

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to sport, particularly rugby.

Academic career

In 2014, she conducted research to examine how leadership and culture affect success at rugby.Manawatu Standard, 19 May 2014
Ex-Black Fern to research our women's rugby success
Accessed 1 June 2014

References

External links

* * * *
Black Ferns Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Farah 1972 births World Rugby Awards winners Living people New Zealand women's international rugby union players New Zealand female rugby union players Rugby union hookers Massey University faculty Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Sportspeople from Te Kuiti World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients Rugby union players from Waikato