It’s a no-brainer that it was a fundraiser we could not be associated with.
“You have to appreciate from a charity point of view we have no control of who is fundraising for us until it is in the public domain.
“We also need to fundraise $1.5 million a year to do what we do within the community but it’s a no-brainer that it was a fundraiser we could not be associated with.”
Ra¯wa¯ Karetai of Heroes Rugby said the team had decided they wanted to support other “heroes” within the community and thought it was a good opportunity.
“We’ve dealt with it... us and we have taken it offline. We took it down straight away and there was no problem,” Karetai said.
Karetai said the fundraiser would go ahead and the team would find another group to donate to.
“We need to raise some money for some equipment for the team but we also wanted to give back to the community.
“The great thing about the LGBTI community is we know how to have a great dance party. The other fundraiser we had was a sold-out event.”
Karetai said the rainbow team’s first season had gone well and support had been strong from other teams.
Cholmondeley said they were keen to find a more suitable fundraising opportunity with the club in the future, “but it won’t be a strip show or a drag show”, the spokeswoman said. “It looks like a fun event though.”