Scott Barrett has become the fourth All Black to be sent off in a test match after a receiving a red card just before halftime in the opening Bledisloe Cup test.
French referee Jerome Garces, who also sent off Sonny Bill Williams in 2017, gave Barrett a red card after a no arm tackle on Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper. His elbow connected the back of Hooper's head.
Cyril Brownlie, Colin Meads and Williams are the only previous All Blacks to be sent off.
"For me I have a clear picture on the field," Garces told the television match official.
"He never uses his arm. He just puts his shoulder and elbow on the neck and head so it's clearly dangerous. It's direct with force so I have no option but to be a red card against four," he added.
The All Blacks went onto lose the test by a record margin 47-26.
Williams was handed a four-week ban for a no arm tackle on Anthony Watson in the second Lions test in 2017.
A similar ban would probably rule Barrett out of the final two tests before the Rugby World Cup against Australia next week in Auckland and Tonga in Hamilton on September 7.