Drew Mitchell escapes further sanction

A frustrated Wallabies camp questioned the severity of Drew Mitchell's Bledisloe Cup punishment after he became the first Australian to be sent off in 32 years of Test rugby.

Mitchell was cleared on Sunday of further penalty by SANZAR judicial officer Peter Ingwersen who deemed his 48 minutes off Etihad Stadium was sufficient punishment for his two yellow cards in the 49-28 loss to New Zealand.

South African referee Craig Joubert had no choice but to flash his red card and send Mitchell off in the 43rd minute after the winger intentionally prevented quick lineout throw with the All Blacks on attack.

Joubert had already warned both teams he'd run out of patience for deliberate slowing tactics in the attacking zones.

Mitchell, coincidentally, was off the field when the warning was issued late in the first half after being sin-binned for a late, dangerous tackle on Richie McCaw.

Like his second yellow, Mitchell's first offence was incredibly soft with commentators taking issue with the punishment on an assistant referee's report.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said the costly punishment turned the contest into a "nonsense" as it effectively ended any realistic hope the home side had of fighting back from 32-14 down.

"It was a bizarre feeling when it went down to 14 men. It didn't feel like a Test match," Deans said.

"He (Mitchell) is very remorseful. He's aware it made an impact on the group and he was very uncomfortable about that."

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill spared the officials from blame but felt a send-off for two minor offences was an overly harsh punishment.

"You're scratching your head a bit to think that for 38 minutes we're down to 14 men because Drew, probably stupidly, threw the ball away at lineout time," O'Neill told the ABC.

"Unfortunately the referee had given a general warning.

"But for a Test match, it seemed a bit sort of out of kilter that you've lost one man because a player throws a ball away.

"It's not as though he punched someone or it's a dangerous tackle. But you've got to live with it."

Never sent off before at any level in his career, Mitchell became the first Wallaby marched since No.8 David Codey was sent off at the 1987 World Cup against Wales.

The 26-year-old, whose up and down form this season has epitomised Australia's 2010 performances, had started the match so well when he charged down Dan Carter for an eighth-minute try.

"It's hard for me to take any joy from that at the moment, watching the game unfold like the way it did is not a pleasant feeling," Mitchell said.

"I let everyone down out there and it's not a nice feeling."

Mitchell, Australian pivot Quade Cooper plus South Africans Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw and Jacque Fourie have also spent 10 minute stints on the sidelines.

- AAP