Brent Tate (left). Photo / Getty Images
Brent Tate's breakdown after learning he had suffered a third career-threatening knee injury was not given as an excuse for the Kangaroos' loss.
Television cameras captured the popular former Warriors centre in floods of tears and being consoled by team officials at the halftime interval.
But the emotional scenes did
not affect the Kangaroos, coach Tim Sheens said.
"We're not using that as an excuse." Sheens said.
Captain Darren Lockyer also said Tate's distress had been only a minor distraction.
"We could see he was pretty upset but we had a game to play," he said.
"It was a distraction for maybe a minute but we were in a test match and had to get on with things. The boys went over to him after the game to see how he was. He's pretty shattered at the moment."
While Tate's reaction to his injury was not a factor, the loss of one of the Kangaroos' best performers in the tournament clearly was.
When Tate joined Luke Lewis - who suffered a game-ending ankle injury in the first half - on the sidelines, things "began to unravel" for the Australians, Sheens said.
With back rower Sam Thaiday also picking up a knock that reduced him to being a "passenger", the Kangaroos' resources were severely stretched in the second half.
"What it did do was put our interchange bench under pressure and that didn't help," Sheens said.
Tate, who rejected a two-year offer to stay at the Warriors in favour of a three-year contract with North Queensland, now faces a third bout of knee reconstruction surgery followed by nine months of rehabilitation.
While his future is undoubtedly in jeopardy, players have recovered from similar predicaments.
Former Kiwis centre Shontayne Hape, who made his England rugby union debut last week against the All Blacks, suffered three ACL ruptures before switching codes.
