Plenty of fingers have been pointed at the contentious red carding of Scott Barrett as the definitive turning point in the All Blacks' first test Bledisloe Cup blowout in Perth on Saturday.
A minute before the halftime break with the visitors trailing by a point, Barrett was sent off by referee Jerome Garcès for a shoulder charge to the head of Wallabies captain Michael Hooper.
The hosts had already been dominant in both territory and possession up until that stage of the contest and being reduced to 14-men for an entire half proved a hurdle too many, as they were put to the sword by the Wallabies in a record 47-26 defeat.
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At Monday's review session, the 33-test lock tried to make amends with the team for his indiscretion, but coach Steve Hansen was hearing nothing of it.
"[Barrett] wanted to get up and apologise," said hooker Dane Coles. "But Steve [Hansen] said 'mate, it's a team game, things happen. And that was it.
"We've got to get around him [Barrett], he's not a dirty player. Like Steve said, he's just got to learn from what he's done and move on."
Barrett is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines pending the outcome of a judicial hearing that began Sunday evening, before being "adjourned for further evidence".
Coles added that the side had conceded that the red card decision from referee Garcès was fair, highlighting one of Barrett's tendencies in the tight.
"Nothing against Scooter, [but] he's got a little bit of a habit of using that shoulder. But we know if we're going to hit their head, we're going to get done. We've got to develop a better technique."
While some rugby technicalities were covered off, Coles revealed that the majority of the "raw and honest" post-match review had been centered around the intangibles he said the team were clearly lacking at Optus Stadium.
"Our physicality and attitude weren't where they needed to be, and a lot of it's about what's in here," said Coles, pointing to his heart.
"There's a bit of soul-searching for the week, but we need to embrace it and find a bit about what it means to be an All Black."
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