The Black Ferns great tells Kayla Hodge tales from the good old days with Otago, the evolution of rugby, why your voice matters and why you should always throw your hat in the ring.
Say yes.
That is Farah Palmer’s message for any girls and women second-guessing any opportunities that come their way.
Just because you might not know everything does not mean you do not deserve a seat at the table.
Since retiring, the former Black Fern has been a champion for gender equality in sport and has made significant contributions to the growth and development of women’s rugby internationally, including recently being appointed to the World Rugby Council.
"I just want to encourage girls and women to say yes to opportunities, even if they don’t know 100% of everything," Palmer told the Otago Daily Times.
"I think that often we have higher standards of ourselves and I know lots of people that I’ve met who don’t have 100% knowledge, or 100% expertise in areas, and they’re on boards and they’re doing fine.
"So I encourage girls and women to just say yes.
"You’ll make mistakes, you’ll learn as you go, but please don’t wait until you have everything to apply or to put your name forward for anything because honestly you do most of your learning when you’re in there."
Palmer took her own advice when she made a fleeting visit Dunedin as the guest speaker at the St Hilda’s Collegiate prizegiving late last year.
When she answered the call from St Hilda’s principal Jackie Barron, who was the Black Ferns manager during the early 2000s when Palmer was captain, Palmer was only ever going to give one answer.
"I don’t get many excuses to come down that far these days.
"She’s still got that effect on me.
"When your team manager asks you to come and do something, you pretty much can’t say no.
"That was a great opportunity to give back to her and the school, because St Hilda’s was the first ... bit of coaching that I did."
Like many school leavers, Palmer headed to Dunedin in the early 1990s to study at the University of Otago
Her core memories of the city centre around rugby — the kindness of the St Hilda’s players as she dipped her toes in coaching — and meeting lifelong friends playing for University, Alhambra-Union and Otago.
"That’s one of the things I love about rugby.
"I joke to people that there’s something about being at the bottom of a ruck together that kind of bonds you for life."
Palmer, who played for Otago between 1992 and 2000, had fond memories from her time with the region and was part of the crew that helped give the Otago Spirit their moniker.
She wrote to the Otago union about her concerns in women’s rugby, including her hope for Otago to be given a proper name, and the union listened, putting it out for community consultation.
"It’s great that it’s still called the Otago Spirit today."
The Spirit celebrated 25 years of their name during the recent Farah Palmer Cup season — the national domestic women’s competition was renamed after the trailblazer in 2016 — and won the 2025 Championship.
All teams went through ups and downs and while Palmer had concerns about the Spirit in the past, she was delighted to see them succeed.
"They’re on the up again.
"It’s about making sure that the next generation are willing to, kind of, really invest in that legacy of what Otago rugby in general is about.
"I can see that in the men’s and women’s team this year, so it’s amazing to see the Otago Spirit is still strong."
That dated back to the late Sue Garden-Bachop, who insisted Otago needed to go on a North Island tour in the 1990s to allow players to be recognised by national selectors.
It worked, leading to the likes of Margaret McKenzie and Annaleah Bodle (nee Rush) receiving Black Ferns trials.
"I’m a big believer in it doesn’t have to be the way it was when we were there, because we were right for that particular time," Palmer said.
"That’s just amazing to be a part of that legacy and each team to continue to strive, and to push along, whatever that looks like for them."
Palmer went on to play 35 tests for the Black Ferns between 1996 and 2006 and has been heavily involved in the game ever since.
Through the years, each generation played a different role in pushing the women’s game forward.
Palmer’s era fought for the right to be considered as genuine rugby players, while the generation after demanded more — "which I think is important" — in terms of opportunities, media coverage and pay.
The current crop aspired to have rugby as a fulltime career.
"The standard is raised every generation and that’s good because now they’re seeing this as their right.
"They’re demanding resources, they’re demanding attention, they are committed to the sport and see it as a potential career opportunity.
"It’s just really heartwarming, as what I would call a first generation kind of rugby player, to see it continue."
If there is someone who knows a thing or two about winning the Rugby World Cup, it is Palmer.
She captained the Black Ferns titles in 1998 — their first pinnacle trophy — 2002 and 2006 and won 29 of her 30 games at the helm.
There is plenty to reminisce and look back on from those days, but it is her involvement in a World Cup off the field that always brings a smile to her face.
Palmer, who was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014, was part of a key group bidding for New Zealand to host the World Cup in 2022, which ended with a sold-out Eden Park as the Black Ferns lifted "Nancy" and captured the nation’s hearts.
"If anyone asks me what is one of the things that I’m most proud of, it is how we hosted it here in New Zealand and really pushed things and drove things.
"The outcome ... you couldn’t have had a better kind of story in terms of that final.
"I think that we raised the bar in terms of what was expected of a Rugby World Cup."
It came as no surprise that the 2025 edition in England was elevated to another level with more teams, more eyes on the sport and a sold-out Twickenham as the Red Roses got their fairy tale title at home.
The Black Ferns might have walked away with bronze, but they were well beaten in the semifinals against Canada in their bid to defend the title.
"Of course I’m disappointed in the outcome," Palmer said.
"I’m a little bit of a hardcore — we should be winning.
"We need to look at our systems. We need to look at what could we have done better in the coaching area ... and prepare the players for the World Cup, because everyone is catching up."
You only have to look at Canada’s performances in England to gauge the strength of that statement.
New Zealand needed to figure out new ways to push the game forward, and the introduction of Super Rugby Aupiki had been a good start, she said.
"It would be great if we could start to play against Australia and have some other teams join that competition.
"It’s always about windows as well.
"How do we schedule all of these competitions so there’s an opportunity for the best of the best to be part of that competition as well as play for their clubs?
"We’ve still got a small pool of players so it’s about trying to expand that pool."
New Zealand needed a strong provincial competition to elevate players and needed Australia to get stronger as well, as both teams were slightly isolated on this side of the world.
"In New Zealand we have a certain style of play, so it’s important that we go and experience some alternative ways of playing.
"Hopefully there’s some lessons learned from this last Rugby World Cup outcome and we can kind of start to tweak the system so that it helps our players to be the best they can be."
Off the field, Palmer has always championed the game — and women — to be the best they can be.
She pours countless hours into governance roles: as a member of the New Zealand Māori Rugby board for 17 years, becoming the first female to serve on the NZR board from 2016 to 2024 and her appointment to the World Rugby Council.
"It’s always about taking [it to] the next level.
"There’s going to be some huge changes at New Zealand Rugby.
"I’m really looking forward to being on the World Rugby Council and kind of figuring out what impact I could have in that space."
Palmer has also served on the Sport New Zealand board, is a professor at Massey University, where she is the pou ākonga (executive director) Māori student success and was made a Dame for her services to sport in 2023.
Encouraging women in leadership and governance roles has always been close to Palmer’s heart, and she recently joined the Women in Sport Aotearoa board.
"It’s all about visibility.
"It’s about getting more girls, and women, to participate in sports so we can have the kind of cream rising to the top.
"It’s about having women’s voices in leadership roles so we can influence the resourcing and decision-making."
Women having a voice around the table was crucial and she was pleased women had to make up one-third of the World Rugby Council.
"People say ‘oh if you’re good enough you’ll get on’.
"That’s a load of rubbish because we know it’s always been a bit of a who’s who and men’s rugby tends to get put in there.
"We need to have our voices around the table."
Female voices were just as important as their male counterparts’ and they had more knowledge of what went on behind closed doors.
Many female athletes still had to hold part-time jobs as they could not afford to live off their sporting wage, mothers had to take time out to tend to their families and some cultures still did not allow women to play sport.
They also had different requirements compared with men and people were only just starting to take note, including World Rugby which was trialling a smaller ball for the women’s game.
Having women in leadership roles was a powerful tool to help further their sporting endeavours.
"It’s about creating opportunities for girls and women to have a voice and to have some input into some of the decision-making, because you don’t know what you don’t know and women’s lives are different.
"It’s hard when you’re one voice, though.
"I’m not an advocate for just having one or two voices. It’s about shoulder-tapping people to put their names forward for these roles."
