Grassroots rugby has been the real winner of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
A novel fundraising venture during the RWC has swelled the coffers of the Pirates Football Club.
"We built a three-sided stadium in our clubrooms, using proper scaffolding, and facing a big screen," Pirates Football Club chairman Adam Binns said yesterday.
"We opened it to all visitors during the pool games and had a lot of campervanners over from the [Dunedin] holiday park next door. We've had English, Australians, Irish, Italians, Argentinians and even a visiting Canadian rugby team, the Port Alberny Black Sheep, here."
The Pirates senior third team had a friendly match against the Black Sheep on Sunday, Mr Binns said.
"We've been run off our feet the whole four weeks. It's been brilliant. The atmosphere has been absolutely fantastic.
"We're not sure how much we made yet, but it could be a year's worth of revenue in a month. It's great that local rugby clubs and grassroots rugby can benefit from the Rugby World Cup like this," he said.
"It's been so successful that we're going to run it for the rest of the World Cup."