The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the 2016 Autumn Internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries: Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – and the European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The 2016 November international window saw 37 international matches take place, with an additional seven international matches taking place outside the allocated three-week window. 27 nations across all three tiers competed in at least one test, with a record 27 matches including a tier 2 or tier 3 side, seven of which were a tier 1 v tier 2 fixture, as World Rugby tried to build on the tier 2 success in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, moving towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Coinciding with the international window, the 2016 Cup of Nations took place, bringing the total number of matches up to 51 for 31 nations. Australia attempted their first Grand Slam tour of the Home Nations since 2013. It was their tenth attempt at a Grand Slam, which they have achieved on only one occasion, in 1984. Australia were unsuccessful in their Grand Slam attempt, losing to both Ireland and England. In addition to their Grand Slam tour, Australia also played France before playing the French Barbarians for the first time since 2005. World Champions New Zealand played Ireland twice, one of which was played at the historic Soldier Field stadium in Chicago, the venue having previously hosted tests between the Eagles, All Blacks, and Wallabies in 2014 and 2015. The game gave Ireland their first victory over New Zealand at the 29th attempt, in a rivalry dating back to 1905. The other Ireland v New Zealand test took place in Ireland as part of the All Blacks' European tour, which also saw them play Italy and France. England and Wales both played host to Argentina and South Africa, while the Pumas and Springboks also travelled to Scotland and Italy, respectively. As in recent seasons, New Zealand and Australia played the third and final Bledisloe Cup Test match for the year, with New Zealand having already secured the cup 2–0 during the 2016 Rugby Championship.
Tier 2 teams Unlike previous November tests, World Rugby has given more tier 2 nations a tier 1 fixture, seeing not only the touring Pacific Island nations Fiji, Samoa and Tonga compete against a top side, but also Canada, Georgia and Japan. Fiji will play England, France will host Samoa, while Italy will host Tonga. Ireland will play host to Canada in what will be Canada's first visit to Ireland, and a tier 1 nation (excluding World Cup years), since November 2008. Georgia will visit Scotland for the first-ever time, playing just their second ever test against each other, the first outside a Rugby World Cup. It will be the first time since November 2014 that Georgia has played a tier 1 test, excluding their 2015 World Cup games against Argentina and New Zealand. Japan will play host to Argentina for the first time since 1998, in what will be the first test between the two nations since 2005, before Japan travels to Wales for the first time since 2007. It will be their first encounter against each other since June 2013, when Japan earned their first ever victory over the Welsh.
Following a reduced 2016 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup to include just the Pacific nations, World Rugby organized intercontinental matches between the Pacific Islanders, North America and Japan at neutral venues in Europe; Fiji will play Japan, and Samoa will play Canada in France, while Tonga will play the United States in Spain. In addition to these tests, Japan and Samoa will be hosted by Georgia, while both Canada and the United States will travel to Romania. Uruguay will play their first ever 3-test European tour having secured tier 2 status. They will visit Spain for the first time since 2011 and Romania in a first ever one-off test outside any tournament. They will also play Germany in what will be the first ever meeting between the two sides. It will also be a first meeting for Spain and Tonga when they play each other in Madrid. In Belgium's only test, they will travel to Portugal in what will be the team's first one-off test outside any tournament.
Tier 3 and invitational teams As part of World Rugby's strategy to provide increasing support to cross-regional international competition, Brazil embarked on their first-ever European tour, playing a two-test series against Germany, in what was Germany's first-ever home test against Brazil, and their first non-European opponent at home since Hong Kong in 2010. It was the first time since the 2011 Cup of Nations that Brazil has left the Americas region for a test match. Furthermore, Portugal played host to the Brazilians for the first-ever time, having already played in Brazil in November 2013. In addition to Brazil's historic tour, Chile played host to their first-ever Asian team when South Korea plays a two-test series against Los Condores. It was the first time that South Korea has left the Asian region for a test match since playing Tonga in 2007, and their first non-qualifying test match since playing Australia in 1987.
Several invitational teams were in action during the window, where the Barbarians played three national sides: South Africa, competing for the Killik Cup, Fiji and Czech Republic. The Czech Republic were the first team outside the elite 20 nations since Belgium in May 2008. It will serve as a celebration match for the 90th anniversary of the Czech Rugby Union. The Māori All Blacks toured for the first time since 2014, playing the United States in Chicago, in a match that was part of 'The Rugby Weekend,' doubling up with the Ireland–New Zealand game the same weekend. The Māori All Blacks later travelled to Europe, playing Irish side Munster in Limerick and English side Harlequins in London.
Fixtures
Team details FB 15Ben SmithRW 14Israel DaggOC 13Anton Lienert-Brown IC 12Ryan CrottyLW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Beauden Barrett SH 9 TJ Perenara N8 8 Kieran Read (c)OF 7 Matt Todd BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Brodie Retallick TP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Joe Moody Replacements:HK 16Codie Taylor PR 17Wyatt Crockett PR 18Charlie Faumuina FL 19Liam Squire FL 20Ardie Savea SH 21Tawera Kerr-Barlow FH 22Aaron Cruden CE 23Malakai Fekitoa Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Israel FolauRW 14Dane Haylett-PettyOC 13Samu Kerevi IC 12Reece HodgeLW 11Henry Speight FH 10Bernard FoleySH 9 Nick Phipps N8 8 Lopeti Timani OF 7 Michael HooperBF 6 Dean MummRL 5 Adam ColemanLL 4 Rory Arnold TP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Stephen Moore (c) LP 1 Scott Sio Replacements:HK 16James Hanson PR 17Tom Robertson PR 18Allan Alaalatoa LK 19Rob Simmons FL 20David Pocock SH 21Nick Frisby FH 22Quade Cooper WG 23Sefa Naivalu Coach: Michael Cheika Man of the Match: Matt Todd (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa) Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Team details FB 15Mike Te'o RW 14Martin IosefoOC 13Bryce CampbellIC 12Folau NiuaLW 11Matai LeutaFH 10Will Holder SH 9 Nate Augspurger N8 8 Danny BarrettOF 7 Tony Lamborn BF 6 Todd Clever (c)RL 5 Nick CivettaLL 4 Nate Brakeley TP 3 Chris Baumann HK 2 James Hilterbrand LP 1 Titi Lamositele Replacements:HK 16Pat Blair PR 17Joe Taufete'e PR 18Angus MacLellan LK 19Matthew Jensen FL 20Alastair McFarland SH 21Stephen Tomasin FH 22Shalom Suniula FB 23Madison Hughes Coach: John Mitchell FB 15Damian McKenzieRW 14Rieko IoaneOC 13Matt ProctorIC 12Tim BatemanLW 11James LoweFH 10Ihaia West SH 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow N8 8 Akira IoaneOF 7 Kara Pryor BF 6 Elliot DixonRL 5 Tom Franklin LL 4 Jacob Skeen TP 3 Ben May HK 2 Ash Dixon (c) LP 1 Kane Hames Replacements:HK 16Joe Royal PR 17Chris Eves PR 18Marcel Renata LK 19Leighton Price FL 20Shane Christie SH 21Brad Weber FB 22Marty McKenzie CE 23Sean Wainui Coach: Colin Cooper Man of the Match: Akira Ioane (Māori All Blacks)
Touch judges: USA Appt. (United States) USA Appt. (United States) Television match official: Rowan Kitt (England)
Team details FB 15Kotaro MatsushimaRW 14Lomano LemekiOC 13Amanaki Lotoahea IC 12Harumichi TatekawaLW 11Akihito YamadaFH 10Yu TamuraSH 9 Fumiaki Tanaka N8 8 Amanaki MafiOF 7 Yuhimaru Mimura BF 6 Uwe Helu RL 5 Samuela Anise LL 4 Kyosuke KajikawaTP 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama HK 2 Shota Horie (c) LP 1 Satoshi Nakatani Replacements:HK 16Takeshi Kizu PR 17Koki Yamamoto PR 18Heiichiro Ito LK 19Kotaro Yatabe FL 20Malgene Ilaua FL 21Shuhei Matsuhashi SH 22Takahiro Ogawa FH 23Timothy Lafaele Coach: Jamie Joseph FB 15Joaquín Tuculet RW 14Matías MoroniOC 13Matías OrlandoIC 12Jerónimo de la Fuente LW 11Santiago CorderoFH 10Nicolás SánchezSH 9 Martín Landajo N8 8 Facundo Isa OF 7 Javier Ortega DesioBF 6 Tomás LezanaRL 5 Matías AlemannoLL 4 Guido Petti TP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c) LP 1 Lucas Noguera Paz Replacements:HK 16Julián Montoya PR 17Santiago García Botta PR 18Enrique Pieretto N8 19Leonardo Senatore FL 20Juan Manuel Leguizamón SH 21Tomás Cubelli FH 22Santiago González Iglesias WG 23Ramiro Moyano Coach: Daniel Hourcade Man of the Match: Nicolás Sánchez (Argentina)
Touch judges: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England) Tim Baker (Hong Kong) Television match official: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) Notes: Samuela Anise, Uwe Helu, Kyosuke Kajikawa, Malgene Ilaua, Heiichiro Ito, Timothy Lafaele, Lomano Lemeki, Amanaki Lotoahea, Shuhei Matsuhashi, Yuhimaru Mimura, Satoshi Nakatani, Takahiro Ogawa and Koki Yamamoto (all Japan) made their international debuts. This was Argentina's largest winning margin over Japan, surpassing the 32 point margin set in 2005, while scoring their most points against Japan. This was Argentina's first ever win in Japan.
Team details FB 15Leigh HalfpennyRW 14Alex CuthbertOC 13Scott WilliamsIC 12Jamie RobertsLW 11George North FH 10Dan Biggar SH 9 Rhys Webb N8 8 Ross MoriartyOF 7 Justin TipuricBF 6 Dan Lydiate RL 5 Luke CharterisLL 4 Bradley Davies TP 3 Samson Lee HK 2 Ken Owens LP 1 Gethin Jenkins (c) Replacements:HK 16Scott Baldwin PR 17Nicky Smith PR 18Tomas Francis LK 19Cory Hill FL 20James King SH 21Gareth Davies FH 22Sam Davies WG 23Hallam Amos Coach: Rob Howley FB 15Israel FolauRW 14Dane Haylett-PettyOC 13Tevita KuridraniIC 12Reece HodgeLW 11Henry Speight FH 10Bernard Foley SH 9 Nick Phipps N8 8 Lopeti TimaniOF 7 Michael HooperBF 6 David Pocock RL 5 Adam Coleman LL 4 Rory Arnold TP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Stephen Moore (c) LP 1 Scott Sio Replacements:HK 16Tolu Latu PR 17James Slipper PR 18Allan Alaalatoa LK 19Rob Simmons FL 20Scott Fardy SH 21Nick Frisby FH 22Quade Cooper WG 23Sefa Naivalu Coach: Michael Cheika Man of the Match: Bernard Foley (Australia)
Touch judges: Jérôme Garcès (France) Federico Anselmi (Argentina) Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland) Notes: Sam Davies and Cory Hill (both Wales) and Tolu Latu (Australia) made their international debuts. This was Wales's largest home defeat since 2006, when New Zealand beat them 46–10. Australia retain the James Bevan Trophy.