The Asian Rugby Football Union has distanced itself from a letter to the International Rugby Board alleging it wanted a re-run of the vote which declared New Zealand as hosts for the 2011 World Cup.

A report in yesterday's Sunday Times said the ARFU had threatened the IRB with legal action unless it annulled the vote.

New Zealand were the surprise choices to stage the tournament after an IRB council vote on November 17th ahead of favourites Japan and South Africa.

The report said the ARFU wanted the re-vote because the manner in which council members cast their votes had not been disclosed.

An IRB statement issued yesterday said: "The democratically elected officials of the ARFU have informed the IRB that the letter should not have been sent as it does not represent the views of ARFU."

The IRB said there would be no re-vote and added that it took exception to any suggestion that the vote was not carried out in a proper and professional manner.

The IRFU has also dismissed any suggestion of impropriety on the part of the union's representatives on the International Board, Noel Murphy and Peter Boyle, as alleged in the newspaper article.

A spokesperson for the IRFU, John Redmond, said: "The allegations made in a Sunday newspaper concerning representatives of the IRFU and the casting of votes to decide the host nation for the 2011 World Cup are totally without any substance whatsoever.

"The IRFU has never entered into negotiations with New Zealand or any other nation with regard to staging a fixture for the re-opening of Lansdowne Road."

Redmond went on to point out that the likely opposition for such an event would be "the auld enemy England, who would guarantee a full house".