Former World Cup-winning Black Fern Farah Palmer has officially received her damehood.
Palmer was recognised for her services to rugby in the New Year's Honours but didn't receive her title until an investiture ceremony in Wellington this afternoon.
Born in Te Kuiti in 1972 but raised in Piopio, Palmer played a variety of different sports growing up but it wasn't until she studied at Otago University that she started playing rugby regularly.
Originally a prop, Palmer then shifted to hooker and with it launched a decade-long journey in the Black Ferns where she became captain and led New Zealand to three World Cup titles.
In the midst of her playing career she earned a PhD in 2000 before becoming a professor at Massey University the following year.
In 2007, Palmer was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and her academic prowess and rugby experience led her to become the first woman appointed on the New Zealand Rugby board.
Despite her incredible career both on and off the field, Palmer said in December she was unsure of her new title.
"It was a bit of a shock. I was like 'why me?'" she said.
"All of those kind of questions that you ask yourself and I did hesitate for a long time before accepting, but really humbled."
The hesitation was so great that Palmer hid the letter from her family.
"I didn't get past the first couple of lines," she said.
"I quickly folded it back up and stuck it back in the envelope and put it somewhere I thought nobody could find it."
The Ngāti Maniapoto descendent added she will make the most of her new status though.
"Playing rugby challenged the way people think about women, how they should look and behave and be, so I really loved that about rugby," she said.
"I've taken that further in terms of I tried to do coaching, tried to be in the media, tried player development and found my place in governance."
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