All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has unveiled that loose forward Liam Squire wasn't thought of as an injury replacement for rookie Luke Jacobson.
Jacobson was ruled out of the Rugby World Cup with ongoing concussion symptoms following the All Blacks win over Tonga.
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The 22-year-old developed symptoms after the first training session in Japan this week.
The likely replacement would've been Liam Squire who took himself away from the national side - revealing he wasn't physically or mentally ready for the pressure of test rugby.
"As Steve said yesterday if the All Blacks do get injuries, and I'm performing well enough, then I'm 100 percent available," Squire said in an Instagram post.
But Hansen revealed Squire wasn't even considered to replace Jacobson.
"Not really because nothing has changed," Hansen said.
"It's happened right at the beginning of the tournament. We had the discussion and that was based around the time over here so nothing has changed from that point of view for him."
Tasman Mako loose forward Shanon Frizell will fly to Japan as Jacobson's replacement. Jacobson will fly back when he is symptom-free.
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