The 2010 end-of-year rugby union tests, also known as the Autumn internationals in the northern hemisphere, saw Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in a competitive tour of the northern hemisphere. Test matches were also arranged with the various Pacific island teams and other non-Tier 1 international sides. This period also marked the conclusion of the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying process, as well as the beginning of the European Nations Cup.

The series saw Ireland play their first Test matches at the Aviva Stadium, which replaces Lansdowne Road as the side's long-term home and ends the temporary arrangement with the Gaelic Athletic Association which allowed the team to play home matches at Croke Park. The series also marked the first time that two Southern Hemisphere nations simultaneously attempted Grand Slam tours of all four Home Nations, with both New Zealand and South Africa playing all four countries. The Springboks went 3–1 against the Home Nations, losing to Scotland, and also lost to the Barbarians, but the All Blacks were successful for the fourth time and third since 2005.

New Zealand entered the series on a winning streak of 15 Tests. The current record for "Tier 1" nations is 17, which they hold jointly with South Africa; the absolute record is 18, held by Lithuania. New Zealand's streak ended with a 26-24 loss to Australia in their opening game.

In all, 24 of the top 25 sides in the IRB World Rankings (as of 30 September 2010) played in the end-of-year series.

Matches

FB 15Ayumu GoromaruRW 14Kosuke EndoOC 13Koji TairaIC 12Ryan NicholasLW 11Hirotoki OnozawaFH 10James ArlidgeSH 9 Fumiaki TanakaN8 8 Koliniasi HolaniOF 7 Toetuʻu TaufaBF 6 Takashi Kikutani (c)RL 5 Toshizumi KitagawaLL 4 Luke ThompsonTP 3 Kensuke HatakeyamaHK 2 Shota HorieLP 1 Naoki KawamataReplacements:HK 16Hiroki YuharaPR 17Hisateru HirashimaLK 18Hitoshi OnoFL 19Michael LeitchSH 20Koji WadaFB 21Bryce RobinsWG 22Alisi TupuaileiCoach: John Kirwan FB 15Lolo Lui (c)RW 14Mikaele PesaminoOC 13Josh TatupuIC 12Jamie HelleurLW 11Sinoti SinotiFH 10Joshua KeilSH 9 Kahn Fotuali'iN8 8 Richard MuagututiaOF 7 Afa AionoBF 6 Ofisa TreviranusRL 5 Maselino PaulinoLL 4 Simaika MikaeleTP 3 Anthony PereniseHK 2 Andrew WilliamsLP 1 Logovi'i MulipolaReplacements:PR 16Viliamu AfatiaPR 17Simon LemaluLK 18Levi Asifa'amatalaN8 19Falemiga SeleseleFH 20Faatalatala FagasoaiaCE 21Iafeta LaauWG 22Uarotafou SetuCoach:Fuimaono Tafua Touch judges: Vinny Munro (New Zealand) Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)

FB 15Kurtley BealeRW 14James O'ConnorOC 13Adam Ashley-CooperIC 12Matt Giteau LW 11Drew MitchellFH 10Quade CooperSH 9 Will Genia N8 8 Ben McCalmanOF 7 David PocockBF 6 Rocky Elsom (c)RL 5 Nathan SharpeLL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Ben AlexanderHK 2 Stephen Moore LP 1 Benn Robinson Replacements:HK 16Saia Fainga'a PR 17James Slipper LK 18Dean Mumm N8 19Richard BrownSH 20Luke Burgess FH 21Berrick Barnes WG 22Lachlan TurnerCoach: Robbie Deans FB 15Mils MuliainaRW 14Cory Jane OC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ma'a NonuLW 11Joe RokocokoFH 10Daniel Carter SH 9 Jimmy Cowan N8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c)BF 6 Jerome KainoRL 5 Tom Donnelly LL 4 Brad ThornTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Keven MealamuLP 1 Tony WoodcockReplacements:HK 16Hika ElliotPR 17John Afoa LK 18Sam Whitelock OF 19Daniel BraidSH 20Alby Mathewson FH 21Stephen Donald UB 22Isaia Toeava Coach: Graham Henry Touch judges: George Clancy (Ireland) Simon McDowell (Ireland) Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)

FB 15Atsushi TanabeRW 14Kosuke EndoOC 13Koji TairaIC 12Ryan NicholasLW 11Alisi TupuaileiFH 10Bryce RobinsSH 9 Koji WadaN8 8 Koliniasi HolaniOF 7 Michael LeitchBF 6 Takashi Kikutani (c)RL 5 Toshizumi KitagawaLL 4 Hitoshi OnoTP 3 Nozomu FujitaHK 2 Hiroki YuharaLP 1 Hisateru HirashimaReplacements:HK 16Shota HoriePR 17Naoki KawamataLK 18Luke ThompsonN8 19Itaru TaniguchiSH 20Fumiaki TanakaFH 21James ArlidgeCE 22Yuta ImamuraCoach: John Kirwan FB 15Igor KluchnikovRW 14Vladimir OstroushkoOC 13Andrey KuzinIC 12Sergey TrishinLW 11Vasily ArtemievFH 10Alexey KorobeynikovSH 9 Alexander YanushkinN8 8 Nikita MedkovBF 7 Kirill KushnarevOF 6 Victor GresevRL 5 Artem FatakhovLL 4 Alexander VoytovTP 3 Evgeny PronenkoHK 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c)LP 1 Sergey PopovReplacements:HK 16Evgeny MatveevPR 17Alexander KhrokinPR 18Ivan PrishchepenkoLK 19Alexey PanasenkoFH 20Alexander ShakirovCE 21Alexey MakovetskiyWG 22Oleg KobzevCoach: Nikolay Nerush Touch judges: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand) Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)

FB 15Ben FodenRW 14Chris AshtonOC 13Mike TindallIC 12Shontayne HapeLW 11Mark Cueto FH 10Toby FloodSH 9 Ben Youngs N8 8 Nick EasterOF 7 Lewis Moody (c) BF 6 Tom CroftRL 5 Tom Palmer LL 4 Courtney LawesTP 3 Dan ColeHK 2 Steve Thompson LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements:HK 16Dylan Hartley PR 17David Wilson LK 18Dave Attwood FL 19Hendre Fourie SH 20Danny Care FH 21Charlie HodgsonFB 22Delon Armitage Coach: Martin Johnson FB 15Mils MuliainaRW 14Joe Rokocoko OC 13Sonny Bill WilliamsIC 12Ma'a NonuLW 11Hosea GearFH 10Dan CarterSH 9 Alby Mathewson N8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c)BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Brad ThornTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Keven MealamuLP 1 Tony WoodcockReplacements:HK 16Hika ElliotPR 17John Afoa LK 18Anthony Boric FL 19Liam MessamSH 20Andy Ellis FH 21Stephen DonaldCE 22Isaia Toeava Coach: Graham Henry Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia) David Changleng (Scotland) Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy) Following the match, Keven Mealamu was cited for headbutting Lewis Moody, an offence that did not draw a card from match referee Romain Poite. Mealamu was originally banned for four weeks, but the ban was reduced on appeal to two weeks.

FB 15James HookRW 14Will HarriesOC 13Tom Shanklin IC 12Andrew BishopLW 11Shane WilliamsFH 10Stephen Jones SH 9 Mike Phillips N8 8 Jonathan ThomasOF 7 Sam Warburton BF 6 Dan LydiateRL 5 Alun Wyn Jones LL 4 Bradley DaviesTP 3 Adam JonesHK 2 Matthew Rees (c) LP 1 Gethin Jenkins Replacements:HK 16Huw Bennett PR 17Paul James LK 18Deiniol Jones FL 19Martyn Williams SH 20Richie Rees FH 21Dan Biggar WG 22Chris Czekaj Coach: Warren Gatland FB 15Kurtley BealeRW 14James O'ConnorOC 13Adam Ashley-CooperIC 12Matt Giteau LW 11Drew MitchellFH 10Quade CooperSH 9 Will Genia N8 8 Ben McCalmanOF 7 David PocockBF 6 Rocky Elsom (c)RL 5 Nathan SharpeLL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Ben Alexander HK 16 Saia Fainga'a LP 1 Benn RobinsonReplacements:HK 26Huia Edmonds PR 17James Slipper LK 18Dean Mumm N8 19Richard BrownSH 20Luke Burgess FH 21Berrick Barnes WG 22Lachlan TurnerCoach: Robbie Deans Touch judges: Chris Pollock (New Zealand) Peter Allan (Scotland) Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

a. Stephen Moore suffered a back spasm minutes before kick-off and was replaced in the starting line-up by Saia Fainga'a, so Fainga'a started the match wearing number 16. Huia Edmonds took Fainga'a's place on the bench and wore number 26.

FB 15Rob Kearney RW 14Tommy BoweOC 13Brian O'Driscoll (c)IC 12Gordon D'ArcyLW 11Luke FitzgeraldFH 10Johnny Sexton SH 9 Eoin Reddan N8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 David WallaceBF 6 Stephen FerrisRL 5 Mick O'Driscoll LL 4 Donncha O'CallaghanTP 3 Tony Buckley HK 2 Rory BestLP 1 Cian HealyReplacements:HK 16Seán CroninPR 17Tom Court LK 18Donnacha Ryan FL 19Denis LeamySH 20Peter Stringer FH 21Ronan O'Gara CE 22Keith Earls Coach: Declan Kidney FB 15Gio AplonRW 14Bjorn BassonOC 13Zane KirchnerIC 12Jean de Villiers LW 11Bryan Habana FH 10Morné Steyn SH 9 Ruan PienaarN8 8 Pierre SpiesBF 7 Juan SmithOF 6 Deon Stegmann RL 5 Victor Matfield (c)LL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 Jannie du Plessis HK 2 Bismarck du PlessisLP 1 Tendai MtawariraReplacements:HK 16Chiliboy RalepellePR 17CJ van der Linde LK 18Flip van der Merwe FL 19Keegan Daniel SH 20Francois HougaardUB 21Adrian Jacobs UB 22Patrick Lambie Coach: Peter de Villiers Touch judges: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand) Keith Brown (New Zealand) Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales) Victor Matfield drew level with Percy Montgomery and John Smit as the most-capped Springboks, with 102. Morné Steyn's streak of consecutive successful kicks at goal in Tests ended at 41, which is the longest such streak since records on kickers' success were first kept in the late 1980s.

FB 15Luke McLeanRW 14Tommaso BenvenutiOC 13Gonzalo CanaleIC 12Andrea Masi LW 11Mirco BergamascoFH 10Craig Gower SH 9 Tito Tebaldi N8 8 Sergio Parisse (c)OF 7 Robert BarbieriBF 6 Alessandro Zanni RL 5 Quintin GeldenhuysLL 4 Carlo Del Fava TP 3 Martin CastrogiovanniHK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini LP 1 Salvatore Perugini Replacements:HK 16Fabio Ongaro PR 17Andrea Lo Cicero LK 18Santiago Dellapè FL 19Paul Derbyshire SH 20Pablo Canavosio FH 21Luciano Orquera CE 22Alberto Sgarbi Coach: Nick Mallett FB 15Martín RodríguezRW 14Gonzalo CamachoOC 13Gonzalo TiesiIC 12Santiago FernándezLW 11Lucas González AmorosinoFH 10Felipe Contepomi (c)SH 9 Nicolas VergalloN8 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe OF 7 Miguel de AchavalBF 6 Genaro Fessia RL 5 Mariano Galarza LL 4 Manuel Carizza TP 3 Martín Scelzo HK 2 Mario Ledesma LP 1 Rodrigo RonceroReplacements:HK 16Agustín Creevy PR 17Marcos Ayerza PR 18Juan Figallo LK 19Esteban Lozada FL 20Alvaro Galindo SH 21Alfredo LalanneWG 22Horacio AgullaCoach:Santiago Phelan Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) Pascal Gaüzère (France) Television match official: Daniel Gillet (France)

FB 15Ben FodenRW 14Chris AshtonOC 13Mike Tindall IC 12Shontayne HapeLW 11Mark CuetoFH 10Toby Flood SH 9 Ben Youngs N8 8 Nick Easter OF 7 Lewis Moody (c)BF 6 Tom CroftRL 5 Tom Palmer LL 4 Courtney LawesTP 3 Dan ColeHK 2 Dylan Hartley LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements:HK 16Steve Thompson PR 17David Wilson LK 18Simon Shaw FL 19Hendre Fourie SH 20Danny Care FH 21Charlie Hodgson FB 22Delon Armitage Coach: Martin Johnson FB 15Kurtley BealeRW 14James O'ConnorOC 13Adam Ashley-CooperIC 12Matt Giteau LW 11Drew MitchellFH 10Quade CooperSH 9 Will Genia N8 8 Ben McCalman OF 7 David PocockBF 6 Rocky Elsom (c)RL 5 Nathan SharpeLL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Ben AlexanderHK 2 Stephen MooreLP 1 Benn Robinson Replacements:HK 16Saia Fainga'aPR 17James Slipper LK 18Dean Mumm N8 19Richard Brown SH 20Luke Burgess CE 21Berrick Barnes WG 22Lachlan TurnerCoach: Robbie Deans Touch judges: Christophe Berdos (France) Simon McDowell (Ireland) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

FB 15Luke FitzgeraldRW 14Tommy BoweOC 13Brian O'Driscoll (c)IC 12Paddy WallaceLW 11Andrew TrimbleFH 10Ronan O'GaraSH 9 Peter Stringer N8 8 Jamie Heaslip OF 7 Seán O'BrienBF 6 Denis LeamyRL 5 Devin Toner LL 4 Donncha O'CallaghanTP 3 John Hayes HK 2 Seán Cronin LP 1 Tom CourtReplacements:HK 16Rory Best PR 17Cian Healy LK 18Donnacha Ryan FL 19Stephen Ferris SH 20Isaac Boss FH 21Johnny SextonCE 22Keith EarlsCoach: Declan Kidney FB 15Paul WilliamsRW 14David LemiOC 13George Pisi IC 12Seilala MapusuaLW 11Alesana TuilagiFH 10Tasesa Lavea SH 9 Kahn Fotuali'iN8 8 George StowersOF 7 Manaia Salave'aBF 6 Ofisa Treviranus RL 5 Kane ThompsonLL 4 Filipo Levi TP 3 Anthony PereniseHK 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c)LP 1 Sakaria Taulafo Replacements:HK 16Steve FualauPR 17Simon Lemalu LK 18Joe Tekori FL 19Afa Aiono SH 20Junior Poluleuligaga CE 21Gavin Williams FB 22Jamie HelleurCoach: Fuimaono Tafua Touch judges: Jérôme Garces (France) Neil Paterson (Scotland) Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)