The Brisbane Global Tens won't be staged next year, according to reports, and clouds have thickened over the long-term future of the pre-season event.
Modest crowds in the tournament's first two years have left Duco Events resigned to pulling it from the calendar in 2019, the New Zealand Herald reported on Friday.
The prospect of shifting the tournament to Auckland remains on the table as the same organisers consider a trans-Tasman swap with another February event - the NRL Auckland Nines.
The Nines took a break this year in what would have been its fifth edition, with falling crowd sizes also proving an issue.
Just as last year's Rugby League World Cup was cited as a reason for skipping the Nines, next year's rugby union global showpiece is a reason for Duco Events' re-think of the Tens.
Hampering the Tens is an inability to attract Test players because their contracts require a set off-season rest period.
Duco Australia CEO Rachael Carroll admitted after this year's tournament it was unlikely top-line Wallabies and All Blacks would ever be involved.
Carroll said a combined crowd of about 30,000 across two days at each of the first two tournaments was disappointing.
Brisbane is contracted as host until 2020.
