I do not regret what I said or its timing, adds Steve TewAll Blacks would be replaceable, says IRB

Steve Tew, the chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union, said on Tuesday that he stood by his contention that teams, including the All Blacks, may not take part in the 2015 World Cup because they cannot afford to do so.

Mike Miller, the chief executive of the International Rugby Board, attacked Tew for both the timing and the content of his remarks, which were made in an interview with the Guardian last week, and said the All Blacks would be replaceable at the tournament, which will be staged by England.

"Does the World Cup need the All Blacks," asked Miller during a radio interview. "It would be good for them to be there, but everyone is replaceable. The timing of Steve Tew's remarks was not brilliant and he is aware of the IRB's decision to re-evaluate the World Cup model after this tournament."

One of Tew's complaints was that the NZRU lost some £7m in a World Cup year because of a lack of incoming tours and reduced revenue from sponsors who are totally excluded form a World Cup to protect the tournament's backers.

"He does not talk about the £6m the NZRU gets from the IRB over the four-year cycle between World Cups," said Miller. "He is on the IRB council, he has been involved in all the decisions made over the last five or six years and he knows what is going on."

Tew was not tempted to hit back. "I am not going to make any comment because there is nothing new or surprising in this," he said. "There is no point in saying anything in response. I do not regret what I said in the interview, which was entirely factual, nor the timing of it."

The New Zealand back, Richard Kahui, does not share Miller's view that the All Blacks would be replaceable. "You cannot have a World Cup without the All Blacks or any of the top nations," he said. "They have all got to be there to make it a legitimate World Cup."