All Blacks coach Ian Foster said he and selectors will look to send some players home early from Australia next week if they aren't needed for the final Tri-Nations Test later this month.
Foster announced a full-strength side for this Saturday's Test against Argentina with the line-up missing regular prop Ofa Tuungafasi following his suspension last night for a red card-worthy high shot in last week's 24-22 loss to the Wallabies.
Tuungafasi copped a three-week ban for the dangerous contact, meaning his season with the All Blacks is now over given they only have their two Tests against Argentina left for the year.
Foster was asked if Tuungafasi would leave the team early to return to New Zealand now that he has no chance of playing and while his initial response was "no", he did reveal that answer could change next week - for multiple players.
"We're looking at the potential choice of sending a few players home a bit earlier - like maybe early next week - once we figure things out and get through this game.
"If that happens, Ofa would be one of those people."
Following this Saturday's Test in Sydney, the All Blacks have a bye before they play their final Tri-Nations match against the Pumas on Saturday November 28.
Foster said with the schedule in mind, early departures had "always been part of their plans" when they were preparing to cross the Tasman for the Australia-based competition.
"With the squad that we've got, if there wasn't a lot of injuries, we could send a number back a week or 10 days earlier and commence their quarantining so they can have a bigger break," Foster said.
"It's something we're going to assess after this game, see how we come through with injuries and make a decision there.
"We've still got to make sure that we've got a squad that's capable of preparing well for the last Argentina Test."
1 NEWS approached New Zealand Rugby for comment on whether players will have the required vouchers needed to return to Aotearoa early after other athletes such as Michael Venus and UFC fighters Israel Adesanya and Brad Riddell were unable to return or delayed due to the new compulsory system.
An NZR spokesperson said they had planned to send some players home early and the Government was aware of those plans.
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