All Blacks’ coach Steve Hansen described it as “a cheap shot” and there was no sympathy for South African prop Dean Greyling from his team management after he was sin-binned in the Rugby Championship Test in Dunedin on Saturday.

Greyling charged into a ruck and elbowed All Blacks’ captain Richie McCaw 17 minutes from the end of the match which New Zealand won 21-11.

“It was a cheap shot and it will probably be dealt with accordingly,” Hansen said.

After further review of the match footage, the Sanzar citing commissioner has ruled the incident met the red card threshold for foul play.

The citing will be considered by Sanzar duty judicial officer Paul Tully on Sunday afternoon by teleconference.

There was little support for Greyling from South African coach Heyneke Meyer.

“I’m very big on discipline and I’m disappointed. I apologise to Richie. It came at an important stage of the game and certainly didn’t help our cause,” Meyer said.

It was the All Blacks’ fourth consecutive win and, with 16 points, they have one hand on the inaugural championship title. The Springboks have seven points with two home games remaining.

Hansen said halfback Aaron Smith did as much as he could to redeem himself when he scored the game-breaking try after coming on as a substitute for Piri Weepu at halftime.

“Aaron gave us the response we were looking for. There was really only one response he could deliver, and that was to come on and play well.

“He scored a great try.

“Aaron made a difference and that’s what we want our run-ons to do. It was a tough week for him but we all make mistakes in our lives.”

Smith had been relegated to the reserves after breaking team curfew following the Test against Argentina in Wellington last weekend.

“It wasn’t a complete performance but it was a torrid test against desperate opposition,” Hansen said.

“I was really pleased with the character of our elder statesmen and our younger players. We’re proud we’re unbeaten but we’re still looking to improve our game.”