Hawke's Bay have pulled the plug on a short-lived bid to become Super Rugby's 15th franchise but not before a little dig at the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU).

Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (HBRU) chairman Richard Hunt said on Thursday the union had been afforded too little time to put up a credible case.

HBRU also had received a strong signal from the NZRU that its bid was unlikely to succeed.

"We are unsure of the reason for this," he added.

Hunt also released a copy of a letter the union wrote to NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs late last month outlining its discomfort over the whole exercise.

"The HBRU has some serious concerns about the basis on which it was invited to register an expression of interest to be a Super Rugby franchise," Hunt wrote to Hobbs.

"Our union is and remains very serious about its intention to be a contender for hosting a Super Rugby franchise both now and in the future.

"However, we believe the timelines that are in place for a credible application of such magnitude are not sufficient to enable a proper professional business case to be submitted."

NZRU general manager professional rugby Neil Sorensen had written a letter to the Hawke's Bay union in early July giving them just seven business days to compile substantial amounts of information in order to build a credible business case regarding the hosting of a franchise.

Such a severe deadline meant it was impossible for that to be undertaken.

Hunt said Sorensen went on to say: "I also need to remind you that the NZRU has endeavoured to make it clear that it does not currently favour a sixth team based in New Zealand and that the board will take some convincing that that is not still the case."

Hunt said his union had never been given any solid reasons why that stance was deemed appropriate or whether it was based on "well researched and supported fact or on opinion."

The NZRU understood Hawke's Bay union's disappointment," Sorenson said on Thursday.

"However, all of the interested parties in New Zealand were advised well ahead of the process that the process would impose a tight timeframe on responses and that detailed business cases were required to support an expression of interest," he said.

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