The head of the International Rugby Board says the Rugby World Cup would go on without the All Blacks if they boycott the 2015 tournament.
"Does the World Cup need the All Blacks? It would be good for the All Blacks to be there," chief executive Mike Miller told Radio Sport on Tuesday. "Everyone is replaceable."
The New Zealand Rugby Union said last week it would assess the All Blacks' participation at the tournament in England unless the IRB changed the commercial model and revenue sharing.
Chief executive Steve Tew said the NZRU had lost $13.2 million in reduced revenue from sponsorship and ticket sales from a shortened Tri-Nations series and the lack of an end-of-year tour because of the Rugby World Cup.
The comments were supported by Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill.
Mike Miller said the timing of the comments was "not brilliant" .
"He (Tew) is on the IRB Council, he's been involved in all of the decisions that we've made for the last five or six years, so he knows what's going on. It's the IRB Council that decides where the money goes.
"Of course, he doesn't talk about the $12 million that the NZRU gets from the IRB over the four-year cycle."
Mr Miller said Mr Tew and Mr O'Neill were aware of the IRB's decision to re-evaluate the World Cup commercial model after the current tournament.
"We know what the issues are, which is why we had a conference on the economics of the game earlier this year, which Steve Tew was at.
"The conference said (that) after the Rugby World Cup, we'd look at the outcomes and whether we'd need to change the model on the commercial rules, the distribution of funds, and on the timing of the World Cup."
The All Blacks on Tuesday rejected the IRB's claim that the team is not essential to the Rugby World Cup.
Winger Richard Kahui said all the top nations have to be at the tournament for it to be legitimate, while assistant coach Wayne Smith said it was inconceivable that the team won't play in 2015.
