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 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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