Scott Barrett wanted to apologise to his teammates for his red card in Saturday night's Bledisloe loss to the Wallabies and went to do so at a team meeting.
However, as hooker Dane Coles recounts, Barrett was stopped by coach Steve Hansen.
"I think [Barrett] wanted to get up and apologise but Steve said, 'mate, it's a team game, things happen'," Coles said.
"And that was it."
Coles said Hansen was more focused on making sure Barrett had learned from the experience.
"He's not a dirty player. He's a good man. He's just got to learn from what he's done and move on.
"Nothing against [Barrett] but he's got a little bit of a habit of using that shoulder."
Barrett said the team will "get around him" after he become the fourth All Black ever to be sent off.
Barrett became the fourth All Black in history to be sent off after his contact with Hooper - the other three being Cyril Brownlie, Sir Colin Meads and Sonny Bill Williams.
The incident was followed up with a SANZAAR judiciary hearing last night, however a verdict is yet to be released from the meeting.
After Williams' infringement - a similar no-arms tackle on Anthony Watson during the second Lions Test in 2017 - Williams was handed a four-week suspension.
Should Barrett be hit with a similar ban, he would miss the All Blacks' remaining two Tests against the Wallabies and Tonga and potentially the first few matches of the Rugby World Cup.
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