Springboks hooker Bismarck du Plessis has had the red card he received in the Rugby Championship loss to the All Blacks struck from his disciplinary record.
Du Plessis was sent off after being shown a second yellow card early in the second half of their 29-15 loss to New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
A Sanzar judicial hearing found that the first of those yellow cards was wrongly issued.
French referee Romain Poite sent du Plessis to the sinbin for his tackle on All Blacks first five-eighth Dan Carter in the 17th minute.
After hearing submissions, judicial officer Terry Willis of Australia ruled the tackle was within the laws of the game and removed the red card from the record of du Plessis.
No further sanction was imposed on the hooker, although the second yellow card, for an elbow to the throat of loose forward Liam Messam, remains on his record for the remainder of The Rugby Championship.
On Monday the International Rugby Board stated that Poite was wrong to issue the first yellow card and that the referee had recognised his mistake.
