Suspended prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi along with replacement players Peter Umaga-Jensen and Du'Plessis Kirifi will return home early from the All Blacks tour of Australia.
The All Blacks picked an extended tour party of 36 players because of Covid-19 and coach Ian Foster said it was always the intention to send some players home at this stage of the trip.
Midfielder Umaga-Jensen originally came into the squad as injury cover for Reiko Ioane while loose foward Kirifi was called in while Ardie Savea was on parental leave.
Tu'ungafasi was an automatic candidate for an early return home when he was suspended for three matches for a high tackle in the All Blacks loss to Australia in Brisbane, ruling him out of any further part in the tour.
Ofa Tu'ungafasi gets his marching orders in the All Blacks-Wallabies test in Brisbane. Photo: Photosport
Neither Umaga-Jensen or Kirifi played in Australia.
The All Blacks have no test this weekend as they ponder two test losses in a row, including Saturday night's first ever loss to Argentina.
"The advantage for the three players heading home is that they will get an extra two weeks of pre-season training and return to their Super Rugby clubs early. It also means we aren't compromising our own preparation in the build-up for what will be a very important final Test of the year for us," said Foster.
The trio will leave Australia today and spend two weeks in quarantine before being able to join their families.