Beauden Barrett was forced to watch from the sinbin as the Bledisloe Cup test slipped away from the All Blacks, a position he is determined not to put himself or his team in again.
He was on the ANZ Stadium pitch for only a short time after replacing Aaron Cruden at first-five after 63 minutes when he kicked a ball, which had spilled from a tackle, back to the All Blacks' side as the Wallabies looked to attack, an act ruled as cynical by referee Jaco Peyper.
Known as an impact expert - he has been a substitute in 18 of his 20 tests - this time he made an impact for the wrong reasons. It was also his first experience of a test which hasn't resulted in an All Black victory.
Asked what he would take from the experience, he said: "Not to get yellow-carded, not to put myself in that situation. It was quite hard to watch from the sideline. It's hard to make a positive impact when you're on the sideline so I guess when we're on defence not doing anything silly to try to get the ball back."
Barrett, 23, said discipline was discussed every week by the All Blacks. A lopsided penalty count of 14-9 against his side, with two yellow cards, has brought the focus back on why the team are struggling to stay in a referee's good books.