New Zealand are considering withdrawing as co-hosts of the 2003 World Cup after a series of rows with Australia, a move which could lead to Europe staging the event.

The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) fears it may be left out of pocket by staging part of the tournament, as the format stands.

New Zealand are due to host two qualifying pools and two quarter-finals but Australia, down to host the final, want both semi-finals as well. The NZRFU believes it will not make a profit unless it stages one of the semi-finals.

The host-union agreement should have been signed months ago and the International Board is so alarmed at the breakdown in relations between the two unions that it is meeting a delegation from the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) in Dublin next week to discuss the crisis.

With disagreement stretching to the proposed seeding system, the rift between the NZRFU and the ARU has grown so wide that New Zealand was blamed when the draft World Cup schedule was leaked this week.

The seedings should have been agreed last August but are still the subject of dispute. The first four seeds will be the countries which finished in the top four of the 1999 World Cup: Australia, France, South Africa and New Zealand. The NZRFU want England to be seeded fifth and not Wales as has been decided.