Name: Dr Farah Palmer
Occupation: Lecturer at Massey University
Date of Birth: 27 November 1972
Sports career: Captain of the Black Ferns
Position: Hooker
Farah is fast becoming a legend in women’s rugby for her leadership qualities, she is also a technically efficient hooker. Farah has been captain of the Black Ferns since 1997.

Farah’s answers to questions from students:

How did you get to be the leader of the women’s rugby team?
From Stephanie
I got to be the captain of the women’s rugby team with a combination of hardwork and good timing! I don’t think I’m the ‘leader’ of the team though. We had lots of leaders who were given official roles like the captain or vice-captain, but there were also lots of ‘unofficial’ leaders who were great at getting players to follow them. I was asked to be captain by the coach of the New Zealand team by Darryl Suasua in 1997. It was just before the team was to be announced so I was excited that I’d actually made the team. I don’t know if Darryl talked to the players or the other management people about it, but he said they would like me to be captain. The captain at the time, Lenadeen Simpson-Brown, had been a great mentor for me as we both played rugby in the Waikato. I think I was asked because I like to encourage others to reach their potential and I understand how important it is to meet obligations and be responsible at times, while also doing your own job as a player. I think there were several players that were considered for captain, but because of injuries I was asked. I said ‘yes’ as soon as I was asked, but then reality sunk in afterwards and I freaked out a little bit!

Is it hard being the leader of the team?
From Stephanie
Yes it can be hard, especially when you’re trying to balance playing your own game, and doing other things to benefit the team and trying to motivate players and keep the team operating on and off the field. I’ve found it stressful at times, especially when I felt I needed to work on my own game. But then I think I work better as a captain. I like having extra responsibility and being a part of the decision-making. When I’m really fit, I feel I can make quick and effective decisions and I think that is important for the team. I also like to make sure that the team is working well together. I feel I’m in tune with the feeling of the team. That can be hard to monitor and change at times, especially if you’ve been stuck with the same people for 3 weeks!

What are your hobbies?
From Stephanie
I don’t really have a lot of hobbies at the moment because I’m so busy, but when I do get the chance I like to just chill out. I like to catch up with friends and go out for dinner or a quick coffee break. I like going to the movies, watching videos, reading magazines that are full of rubbish, playing with my cat who gets neglected during the week, trying to do something with the house I’ve bought and renovate it (my idea of renovating, might be somone else’s idea of demolishing!). I like to go bike-riding, walking, try to surf, window-shopping, ten-pin bowling, golf, and squash.

What are your team colours?
From Stephanie
When I play for my club, Kia Toa, my colours are baby blue and royal blue. When I play for Manawatu the colours are green and white and when I play for the Black Ferns it is usually black (although we play in a white jersey when we play teams like Scotland who are in dark blue). I’ve also played for Waikato (red, yellow, and black) and Otago (dark blue and gold), and other clubs I’ve played for are Waikato University (yellow), Otago University (light blue and gold) and Alhambra-Union (maroon and gold).

How long have you been playing rugby for?
From Mikill
I’ve been playing rugby since 1992! That is a long time when I think about it. I never played rugby at school because it wasn’t an option offered to girls at Piopio College and as girls, we never considered it was an option. I played netball at school. It wasn’t until I went to Otago University that I realised women could and did play rugby, and they seemed to be having so much fun, that I wanted to give it a go. I fell in love with the game straight away. I started as a prop, and then moved to hooker in 1994.

Are you married and if so do you have kids?
From Mikill
No, I’m not married. I’ve been in some serious relationships but I haven’t found the right person I could say I’d want to marry yet! A bit sad aye?! I’d love to have kids and got a ‘taste’ of what it was like to look after babies when my younger sisters were born. They are 9, 11, and 15 years younger than me, so I got to experience stink nappies, crying babies in the middle of the night, and how much hard (but rewarding) work babies can be. When I find the right person I’ll have babies with them!

Does any else in your family play rugby or other sports?
From Mikill
My father used to play rugby for King Country when he was in his ‘prime’. He told me over and over that he played 54 games for King Country at the time when Colin Meads was near retirement. My Mum played netball. Because I play rugby, my sisters tend to stay away from that sport, because we are quite competitive, and they don’t want to be compared to me all the time. My 21 year old sister does play club rugby up in Auckland now and then and she tends to play lock or flanker. She has really bad asthma, so she tends to play for fun and when her asthma is okay. My next sister, who is 19, used to play hockey and was a great swimmer at high school. She is now at university, and plays sport for social more than competitive reasons now. The youngest sister, who is 15, is very competitive (a bit like me) and is into competitive swimming in a big way. She also plays hockey.

Could you come to visit our school?
From Mikill
I like to visit schools throughout New Zealand. I’ve been to a few schools that have asked me to talk at assemblies, or as part of a mentoring, role-modelling programme. Where is your school? Ask them to send me a letter inviting me to speak and I’ll see what I can do!

How old are you?
From David
That is a question not many women would like to answer! But since I’m in a good mood, and I didn’t find any more grey hairs when I was looking in the mirror this morning, I don’t mind telling you. I am 30 years old! Old aye?! I don’t mind being that old though, because I’ve achieved so much in my life already. I feel that now I can relax a little, and do things that I want to do like renovate my house, and catch up with friends, and work at university.

How old were you when you started playing rugby?
From David
I started playing rugby in my second year at university, when I was 19-20 years old. So, I’ve been side-stepping, tackling, scrumming, and lineout throwing for 10 years now! Phew … I’m tired just thinking about it.

Do you get any thrills out of playing rugby?
From Daniel
Of course I do. I always said to myself, the day that I don’t have any more fun playing rugby, is the day I give it up. I was thinking about retiring from rugby because of other commitments and desire to do other things with my life, but I still enjoy rugby. I enjoy the sense of family and friendship I get from the teams I play in, I love the fact that I still get a thrill from setting up a try, or even on the very rare occasion, when I score a try! I like the feeling I get when we’ve done a move we’ve been working on for ages and it goes according to plan on the day. That is a feeling of satisfaction. I like hanging out with the people I play rugby with because they have similar personalities to mine, and we get on really well and have lots of fun. I like having the opportunity to learn new skills and teach others skills, and see them progress. Perhaps I’m moving away from enjoying the competitive elements of rugby, and more toward coaching and teaching others, as well as a sense of community I get from playing and staying involved in rugby.

Do you think men’s rugby is better than women’s rugby?
From Joshua
Hi Joshua, When you say ‘better than’ I often wonder what that means. I don’t like comparing the two. If we’re talking about the skill level, men’s rugby at the elite level gets more exposure, so it seems as it the skill level is higher. But after playing with some of the best women’s rugby players, and seeing them play in other countries, I think there are some awesome female rugby players who, if they were a little bit bigger, would compete with some of the best male rugby players. If you matched two players, male and female, weight for weight, muscle mass for muscle mass … I think that would be a good competition.

Personally, I like watching men’s rugby at the elite level, because they do some amazing things. But I like watching women’s rugby too for the same reasons. We just don’t get to see that much of it on TV.

Page created April 2003