The Otago Spirit has met its fundraising target to compete in this year's national provincial championships and is now just waiting to hear back from the New Zealand Rugby Union as to whether it can get back into the national competition.
Former Black Fern and Otago prop Margaret McCarrigan said the campaign had raised $17,000 so far for the Spirit to operate this season.
With other donations to come in she was confident they would reach the total of $20,000 needed to run the team.
The Otago Rugby Football Union had allocated $20,000 from its budget to run the team but this had been canned as a cost-cutting measure.
But thanks to the fundraising campaign, McCarrigan was confident the team would be on the paddock this year and that with a bit of further cost-cutting the team could manage on $17,000.
Union change manager Jeremy Curragh was in contact with the NZRU and was waiting to hear back from the national body to confirm Otago's entry in the national championship, which starts in September.
The NZRU had said if Otago could raise the money by the end of April it could get back in the competition.
McCarrigan said raising funds so quickly was great, and showed people still cared about the sport.
"We've had people from all over the world, who used to play for Otago and were involved in the game, wanting to help us out.
People have taken buckets round games and clubs in other places in New Zealand getting funds," McCarrigan said.
She said All Black loose forward Adam Thomson had raised upwards of $7500, with his own fundraising campaign, and had auctioned off a ball, signed by the 2011 All Black World Cup squad.
The ball fetched more than $3200.
Meanwhile, the first of two trials for aspiring women's sevens players was held at the Edgar Centre last night.
The NZRU is looking for highly motivated athletes to join a programme to build a team for the Rio de Janerio 2016 Olympic sevens squad.
Sevens resource coach Mike Moeahu said 62 players had registered for the Dunedin trials and the first group of them went through testing last night.
Trials are being held throughout the country.
The testing involved players, aged 16 upwards, going through a speed test, other fitness testing and rugby skills. There were also character-building tests.
Moeahu said the selectors were looking for athletes with agility and physical skills.
Sportswomen from sports such as rowing, football, athletics and of course, rugby had all registered for the trials, which would continue tonight.
Numbers would be thinned out for a camp at Logan Park on Sunday with further camps later in the year.
