The All Blacks showed their dominance of rugby in 2010 when they won the Tri-Nations series against Australia and South Africa, going through the event unbeaten, and won all three games in the Steinlager Series against Ireland and Wales. Their excellent run only came to an end when they lost 26-24 to Australia in Hong Kong in October.
They won the Tri Nations series for the tenth time after three successive victories against the Springboks, also retaining the Bledisloe Cup after consecutive victories against the Wallabies. The closest margin in the six-game series was ten points, with the Australians humbled both in Sydney and Melbourne.
The All Blacks were the only team to go through the northern tour unbeaten to win a Grand Slam. They beat a resilient England at Twickenham 26-16 before destroying Scotland 49-3 and easing past Ireland 38-18. They completed the tour unbeaten by winning 37-25 against Wales at the Millennium Stadium to record their third grand slam of the home unions in five years. The All Blacks out-scored the Welsh by five tries to one while fly-half Daniel Carter broke Jonny Wilkinson's world record tally of 1,178 points with his second kick of the match.
November was a month for records and milestones. Dan Carter's rise to the top of Test rugby's all-time points-scoring list is the most notable while Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina are now their country's most-capped players. Coach Graham Henry also recorded his 100th Test win as a coach.
