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Wellington - The All Blacks have been dealt a blow with the news that flank Liam Squire will miss the rest of the Rugby Championship with a hand injury.
Squire sustained the injury in the 59th minute of the All Blacks' 36-34 defeat to the Springboks in Wellington on Saturday.
It initially looked as if the 26-year-old had done damage to his shoulder, but he has since been diagnosed with a hand injury and ruled out for three weeks.
The good news is that the loose forward won't require surgery. He is likely to be replaced by fellow Highlander Shannon Frizell in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says that there is a great deal of introspection going on in the dressing-room at present about what could have been done differently in the build-up to the match.
"I think they've got sore hearts, not bodies," said Hansen. "They're still hurting. Hopefully they hurt for a while.
"We'll all have to dwell on it until we play Argentina, that's the first chance we'll have to get rid of it.
"There are some good lessons to be learnt and we've got to make sure we learn them.
"We've all got to look at ourselves - myself included - and what we did from Sunday to Friday. You've got to prepare well, you've got to mentally prepare well.
"I think you saw the difference between one team which was absolutely desperate and another team that was hungry enough, but they certainly weren't as desperate."
