'So stupid': Filipo Daugunu and Jordie Barrett blasted on social media for early yellow cards in Bledisloe Cup III

The message from the Wallabies camp was clear earlier in the week: shut down new powerhouse All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke.

At least that was the memo given out by Australian wing Filipo Daugunu, who was tasked with marking the 21-year-old dynamo in the third Bledisloe Cup clash in Sydney.

"Our aim is to kick to him," Daugunu told media in the days leading up to the potentially decisive trans-Tasman test.

"For him to catch so we can smash him. Our target this week was him."

Unfortunately for Daugunu, a case of overeagerness has cost his side dearly in the opening stages of the test, with the two-cap wing sent from the field via a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Clarke.

True to their word, the Australians targeted the two-test Kiwi through an aerial bombardment in the first few minutes of the contest, and made a conscious effort make sure he wasn't afforded the room that made him so dangerous in Auckland a fortnight ago.

However, Daugunu took his commitment to the cause too far, flying in on Clarke while he was airborne in just the fourth minute of the match, leaving referee Ben O'Keefe no decision but to send the Fijian-born Australian to the sin bin.

Fortunate to avoid a red card thanks to the fact Clarke didn't land on his head, Daugunu didn't escape an onslaught of criticism on social media, with numerous pundits taking to Twitter to voice their discontent over his ill-discipline.

Daugunu's absence allowed the All Blacks to enjoy a one-man numerical advantage, of which they fully capitalised on by sending loosehead prop Karl Tu'inukuafe in for his first test try in the seventh minute.

However, another moment of controversy just moments later cancelled out any buffer the All Blacks had, with wing Jordie Barrett handed a yellow card for an elbow to the face of Marika Koroibete in the ninth minute.

Perhaps a bit more innocuous than Daugunu's infringement, the ongoing replays on the big screen of what might have been intended to be a fend worked in Australia's favour, and Twitter users were quick to voice their opinions.