Cloverlea pub’s destruction a nostalgic moment for ex-All Black

When the Cloverlea Tavern went up in black smoke two weeks ago, it revived happier memories for Geoff Old, the former All Black No 8 and Manawatū rugby player.

One of his various ventures, which included coaching the Dutch national rugby team from 1997 to 1999, was being a publican at the Palmerston North tavern when he leased it from DB Breweries between 1987 and 1994.

To see the Cloverlea immolated was sad news for the 68-year-old Old, who was host there for seven years of what he said were really fun times and long hours, when the car park was often full. That came after 12 years with the police and after he had finished with Manawatū and All Blacks rugby.

He has since dug up a list of the activities that had the tavern humming. These included hosting popular local bands – even the Drifters one year.

It was the home of the Tainui Rugby League Club and a favourite watering hole for stockcar patrons.

A national darts championship was held there, as was amateur boxing with a full ring, pool and karaoke competitions, the New Zealand Duck Calling Championships, velcro-suit jumping from trampoline to wall, sumo wrestling in bubble suits, and popular annual lip-synch shows.

One of the biggest was Cloverlea Shearing with more than 200 sheep, three stands and pens on stage, always held a week before the Golden Shears in Masterton.

All the events were planned around hotels in four corners of Palmerston North: the Willow Park (Mark Donaldson), Princess Tavern (Stan Hill), Cafe de Paris (Kent Lambert), the Awapuni Hotel, and The Fitz – which is now a derelict eyesore on Ferguson St badly in need of demolition.

At the time, the hotels were all vying for the same crowds and the leisure dollar.

Meanwhile, Old lives with the effects of post-concussion syndrome from his rugby days, which he has gone public with many times. He played 117 games for Manawatū and 165 first-class games in total, finishing in 1983, and went on to coach Te Kawau club side.

In Manawatū’s centurion rankings, he ranks only behind All Blacks prop Gary Knight (145) and wing Ken Granger (128).

Old took another concussive blow one day while working at the Cloverlea. He remembers it took 18 months to clean out the gangs from the tavern, but one night he was hit from behind with a bar stool.

“The locals then sorted it out,” he said. “No trouble after that – gangs got the message.”

In 1995, Old gained a New Zealand rugby coaching certificate and a diploma in sports management from

Massey University. Soon after, the International Rugby Board sent him off to coach the Netherlands team through to the 1999 World Cup.

Next, he went to the United States in 2001 to be the technical director of USA Rugby. Then he coached club teams in Denver and Florida before becoming an accomplished lawn bowler in Sarasota, Florida, where he was a bowls greenkeeper for about eight years.

He and his wife, Irene, a businesswoman from New York, returned to New Zealand in 2020 after Geoff had been away for 25 years. They live in Northland’s Kerikeri and have long been advocating for reluctant ruling bodies to acknowledge the damage done by concussion, without much luck.

The old Cloverlea lounge bar was also the Kia Toa Rugby Club rooms until February 17, and the club was lucky to lose only a few photos that had been digitised and will be recoverable.

Wilkinson soldiers on

Until Tim Wilkinson materialised in Palmerston North last week, he’d almost become the forgotten professional of New Zealand golf after career earnings of $7 million.

The New Zealand Open this week was his comeback from chronic injuries after readying his game at TPC Sawgrass, near his home in Jacksonville, Florida.

While he still has his PGA Tour card, he has been out on a medical extension since 2021 because of a serious right knee injury, the lead leg for a leftie, and complications. He hadn’t played since.

Surgery was delayed about five months when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. He’d earlier had a thumb injury of unknown origin and troubles with his abductor muscle and hamstring and lost muscle growth.

He wasn’t sure what caused the knee cartilage injury either, which led to a huge time away from the game for someone who has had 194 PGA Tour starts. The injury cost him some mobility in his right kneehip area.

He is allowed five rehab starts, probably on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour from April, and then can play seven PGA Tour events to accumulate sufficient FedEx points to retain his card.

An insurance policy, which every professional pays into, has helped.

It was initially demoralising for the 45-year-old before he came to terms with the setback.