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Former Black Ferns great Farah Palmer has become the first woman to win inclusion on the board of New Zealand Rugby. Cheap Swell Bottles .The three-time World Cup-winning skipper was unanimously elected as the boards Maori representative following the retirement of Wayne Peters.The 44-year-old is the first female board member in NZRs 124-year history.Her promotion comes at a time when rugbys attitude towards women has been widely criticised following a series of off-field incidents at various levels of the game.The lack of diversity in governance has also been highlighted.Palmer says rugby in New Zealand is not without its challenges but was still in good heart given the performance of its national teams and the growing numbers of women players and improved pathways for Maori.She believes she can provide a different perspective, ensuring NZR continues to meet the high expectations of not just Maori, but all New Zealanders.Chairman Brent Impey stressed Palmers elevation wasnt in response to negative headlines through the second half of 2016.He says her achievements and standing made her the logical person to replace the long-serving Peters.Palmer is a senior lecturer at Massey Universitys School of Management and is a director in the universitys Maori business and leadership centre.A World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007 for services to womens rugby and sport.Earlier this year, the womens provincial championship was renamed the Farah Palmer Cup in recognition of her contribution. Swell Bottles On Sale . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. SWell Bottle Sale . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. http://www.swellbottlesale.com/swell-travelers-sale.html . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move.Michael van Gerwen overcame a huge scare against Simon Whitlock as he began his European Championship title defence with a narrow 6-5 win on Friday, but world champion Gary Anderson was whitewashed by James Wade at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium. The Dutch star, who has claimed the title for the past two years, saw his bid to complete a treble of wins threatened when Australian ace Whitlock - the 2012 champion - dominated their first-round clash.After sharing the opening four legs, Whitlock pulled out to lead 4-2 with the aid of a show-stopping 170 checkout and then edged to the brink of victory at 5-3. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Van Gerwen, though, finished double 16 and 87 to force a decider, with Whitlock missing double 15 for the match on a 150 checkout to allow the world No 1 back in to finally secure the win.Simon has been playing well recently and he did again tonight, said Van Gerwen, who now plays Gerwyn Price in Saturdays second round.When he got ahead of me I knew I had to come back and I did that. I played well after the first few legs and Im feeling fine - it doesnt matter how you win as long as you win.To win the triple in this event would be fantastic but Im only in the last 16 and I cant look any further than that. James Wade crushed reigning world champion Gary Anderson Price had earlier secured his second round spot with a 6-4 win over Daryl Gurney but world champion Gary Anderson crashed out as he lost 6-0 to No 4 seed James Wade, who hit six doubles from eight attempts in a ruthless display which included finishes of 102 and 100.Im happy to win but its horrible to see another player having an off-night like that, said Wade.Wade now faces former World Youth Champion Max Hopp in a tasty second-round tie, with the 20-year-old German overcoming Dutchman Benito van de Pas 6-4.Phil Taylor averaged a brilliant 109.28 as he began his bid to win a fifth European Championship with a 6-3 defeat of Alan Norris.Taylor now meets Joe Cullen, who celebrated his debut with a 6-2 win over emerging star Chris Dobey, who had to borrow a set of darts from Michael Smith after his luggage failed to arrive in Belgium. Phil Taylor averaged a brilliant 109. Swell Water Bottle Sale. 28 against Alan Norris. (Picture courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC) Austrian star Mensur Suljovic produced a brilliant display to see off Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena 6-1, averaging an impressive 104.26 and hitting six doubles from eight attempts as he moved through to face Ian White.Suljovic will now play Ian White, whose bid to add to the three ranking victories he has claimed so far in 2016 began with a 6-2 defeat of Terry Jenkins, who was punished for 12 missed darts at doubles during the contest.Number three seed Peter Wright edged out Justin Pipe 6-5 in a thriller, coming back from 5-4 down to win the final two legs as he moved through to face Cristo Reyes.Spains Reyes reached the second round in Hasselt for the second successive year, defeating world No 7 Robert Thornton 6-4, despite the Scot hitting five 180s. Van Gerwens major milestones Michael van Gerwens milestones from his 18 major ranking titles Jelle Klaasen held off Steve Wests fightback from 5-0 down before claiming a 6-3 victory to move through to a second-round meeting with Stephen Bunting.Belgian hopes in the European Championship were ended on the opening night as No 5 seed Kim Huybrechts lost out 6-3 to debutant James Wilson who now plays Mervyn King, after he battled to a 6-4 win over South Africas Devon Petersen in their first-round contest.Australias Kyle Anderson sent No 6 seed Dave Chisnall packing as he celebrated his debut with a 6-3 win.Saturdays second round games will be followed on Sunday by the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session. Saturday October 29: Second Round - Best of 19 legs Afternoon SessionKyle Anderson v James RichardsonMensur Suljovic v Ian WhitePeter Wright v Cristo ReyesJames Wilson v Mervyn KingEvening SessionJelle Klaasen v Stephen BuntingPhil Taylor v Joe CullenJames Wade v Max HoppMichael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price Watch the Grand Slam of Darts live on Sky Sports from November 12. Also See: MVG targets European treble Whitlock: Im coming, MVG Best of the World Grand Prix Van Gerwens major milestones ' ' '