Winnie Palamo: 'Big contact took me a while to get used to in rugby'

Winnie Palamo was gobsmacked when she made the Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) team. She had played less than a season of senior rugby for Christchurch Football Club. Less than two years later she is a key figure for a resurgent Matatu in Super Rugby Aupiki.

The 21-year-old fullback or winger has scored tries in all of Matatu’s victories so far this season, against Chiefs Manawa and Hurricanes Poua home and away.

Matatu matched their 2024 win tally at the halfway stage of the 2025 round-robin and Palamo is hungry for more success.

“The difference between this year and 2024 is connection. We have better chemistry, fitness, and purpose. I have every faith that the girls can take it out,” Palamo told RugbyPass.

Matatu ranks last in Aupiki for carries, defenders beaten, and offloads. However, with Palamo, Kaea Nepia, and Black Ferns centre Amy Du Plessis, they have genuine game-breakers in the backline.

Palamo is blessed with prodigious pace - a holder of Canterbury age group athletics records in shot put, discus, and 100-meter sprints.

“Big contact was something that took me a while to get used to in rugby. I figure if I can run around or away from my opponent I can be effective,” Palamo said.

“When I marked Ayesha Leti-I'iga against Poua I tried to stop the ball getting to her in the first place. If she gets it she's really hard to tackle.

“I've got a lot of things to learn but I feel like I'm improving all the time while growing the confidence to express myself.

In total Palamo has scored six tries in nine games for Matatu. Her strike rate for Canterbury is even better with nine tries in as many appearances.

In FPC 2024, Palamo won the Patterson Cup as Canterbury’s most promising player. That award has been won recently by Black Ferns prop Amy Rule, sevens star Jorja Miller and emerging talent Hannah King. This season Palamo scored eight tries in six games and ranked third in metres gained and second in clean breaks.

In Canterbury’s 36-31 victory over Counties Manukau in the semi-final she scored two tries in the last two minutes as Canterbury completed an improbable victory.

“That semi was nuts but we backed out fitness against the bigger Counties girls,” Palamo reflected. “I got the credit for the tries but credit belongs to the whole team.

“We were without our Black Ferns for the whole season. It was disappointing to lose the final by two points but it was still a great season. For many of us, it was the first time we'd played a whole campaign so in many ways it was a blank canvas.”

Matatu is hoping to paint their name on the 2025 Aupiki trophy as they did back in 2023. A win against either the Blues or Chiefs in the next fortnight will confirm a place in the final.

Matatu beat Chiefs Manawa 22-20 in the last round-robin fixture of the 2024 season in Christchurch with Palamo scoring a try. Matatu and Manawa are the closest Aupiki rivals achieving three wins each in their first six outings, both behind the Blues who have already secured a place in the finals.

Matatu hasn’t beaten the Blues in their last three games. A 26-23 victory in the 2023 semi-final at North Harbour Stadium, Albany was the Southerners' last against the defending champions. Former Black Ferns winger Cheyelle Robins-Reti, now with the Canberra Raiders in the WNRL, scored three tries.

Discipline could be where the Blues fall short this Saturday. They have conceded the most yellow cards (4) and 50 more penalties than Matatu who have the most accurate line out in the competition.