Rugby Championship: All Blacks flanker Liam Squire out three weeks with injury

The All Blacks will be without the services of Liam Squire for the next three weeks.

The flanker was forced from the field in the 59th minute of the loss to South Africa in Wellington and has since been diagnosed with a hand injury.

Coach Steve Hansen confirmed it wouldn't require surgery, just time to effectively heal.

That means the Highlanders forward won't feature against Argentina in Buenos Aires in a fortnight's time, or the return fixture against the Springboks in Pretoria a week later.

His replacement will likely be Shannon Frizzell, who impressed in his first test start against Argentina in Nelson last weekend.

Hansen made no suggestion he'd be looking to bring in any further injury cover, but Wellington stand-out Vaea Fifita may well be in line for a recall.

While there were no further injuries to report, Hansen admitted there were still plenty of players in pain after conceding their first loss against their old rivals on home soil since 2009.

"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."

Hansen insisted the entire team – including the coaching staff - must bear the burden of defeat and make an honest assessment of their preparation leading into the test, implying complacency may have been the source of their downfall.

"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.

Despite dominating both territory and possession, unforced errors and a dogged South African defensive effort conspired to snap the All Blacks' nine-game win streak. 

"We were 12 points in front, and then got sloppy. They scored a good try and then we gave them an easy one and they're in front.

"It just happened to be the same day where we didn't kick goals…it was a perfect storm from that point of view."

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