In fact, McCaw doesn't even feature in the top 45 players in international rugby to have drawn the most yellow cards. Nor in fact does any All Black.
Bortolami holds the record for the most sin-bin appearances in international rugby with hulking South African enforcer Schalk Burger the next on the list with six yellow cards spread over 80 appearances for the Springboks.
He sits alongside another rugged forward, Canadian Jamie Cudmore, who drew the sixth sin-binning of his test career at the weekend after being yellow carded in his team's heavy 50-7 defeat to Ireland.
Two players from Georgia, forwards Giorgi Chkhaidze and Vito Kolelishvili, also have six yellow cards each over their career.
Playing at openside flanker and constantly riding the line around offside means test loose forwards like McCaw tend to draw the attention of whistle-blowers. But even Australian first five Quade Cooper has more yellow cards than McCaw.
When the polarising Cooper was marched at Eden Park last month, conceding a penalty try by chopping down All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith with a high tackle, it was the Australian's fourth sin-binning of a 57-test career.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was unimpressed with the booing of McCaw by fans at Wembley when he was marched and again after the game during sideline TV interviews.
"It's normal over here," said Hansen, suggesting the fans' reaction had been out of order.
"We take it for what it is: a mark of respect against a great player. If you're no good, nobody cares. You don't get booed unless you're any good."
McCaw stuck out a leg when lying in a ruck as Lobbe tapped a quick penalty after 30 minutes, an act which led to Lobbe passing the ball forward.
Referee Wayne Barnes had little option but to send McCaw to the bin - to the delight of the large contingent of Argentina supporters among the record crowd of nearly 90,000.
Making matters worse for the defending champions, who eventually pulled away for a hard-fought 26-16 victory, was the fact that midfielder Conrad Smith joined McCaw in the bin in the 37th minute.
Asked about the crowd's response - a loud chorus of booing and jeering - which continued after the match and drowned out his post-game interview, McCaw said: "I was sitting in the sinbin at the time so I didn't have much of a comeback after that... [it was] a dumb mistake I made."
He added: "I knew straight away that it was a reflex thing and it wasn't the right thing to do. It put the team under pressure which you can't afford to do.
"It was one of those things that as soon as it happens you wish it hadn't [done it]."
Of the booing, McCaw said: "It's happened before and if you get wound up about it or worried about it it's not going to help you."
Smith's yellow card - for interfering at a ruck in front of his posts - was less clear cut, but Hansen said afterwards that both cards were fully justified, adding that they contributed to a difficult afternoon against a well organised and fired-up Pumas defence.
"It took a long time to get on top and the fact that we gave away two yellow cards which were both warranted meant we played 20 minutes with only 14 players," he said. "That's makes it a bit tougher. In saying that I'm happy with our guys. We showed a lot of fortitude. We haven't played for five weeks so the game will do us the world of good."
The second-half introduction of Sonny Bill Williams, Beauden Barrett and Charlie Faumuina asked a lot more questions of the Pumas and in the end were the key to the All Blacks' success. Williams in particular was outstanding - charging at the line and playing with an energy that was at a different level to his teammates.
He almost had a try assist but for Nehe Milner-Skudder dropping the ball cold but fortunately for the All Blacks Aaron Smith scored after wrong-footing his opposite Tomas Cubelli close to the line and Sam Cane, after first dropping a sitter, made it safe with a try of his own.
McCaw said the All Blacks nearly paid for their flat first half.
"We were getting beaten slightly to the punch in the contact areas. If we allowed that to happen in the second half, Argentina would have got away."
Hansen said the All Blacks, who play minnows Namibia at London's Olympic Stadium in four days, would be better for the match, adding: "There's no doubt we were rusty, really rusty. There's a lot of apprehension from every team that's played. I've watched most of the games over the weekend and everyone's been probably half a tick off the pace. That's what comes with World Cups, especially the first round. You're desperate to get started, you're desperate to get points on the board... so now it's out of the way I think all the teams will settle down and you'll see an improvement in execution.
"We definitely know we didn't execute as well as we could have."
