Can the All Blacks find their winning form during the fall tour?
Aiming for what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their illustrious legacy, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.
Fixtures against the Irish team, Scotland, the English squad and the Welsh team await the All Blacks across the coming month but, beyond the possibility to equal the teams of previous successful tours in the record books, the matches will be used as a yardstick to measure the improvement of the squad under a leader now well established from taking up the reins.
Team Issues
Questions over a lack of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over team picks and leavings from the management team have all fueled the feeling that the most recognisable team in the game is presently one in a state of flux.
Most significantly, it is the drop in outcomes from a previous peak set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to speculate that we have moved out of the era of All Black exceptionalism.
Recent History
Prior to their travel for the European tour, it was announced that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will play the Springboks in a summer series dubbed 'a tour like no other'.
Traditionally the rugby's premier teams, there is little doubt over who has currently outperformed of what organizers have labeled 'The Ultimate Contest'.
During the last decade, the Springboks have claimed a couple of World Cups, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be regarded as the side of their period.
The All Blacks have continued to beat the Irish team when it is crucial, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the World Cup quarter finals of recent years. They have, at the same time, lost just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have overcome Wales in every encounter since the sixties and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.
Changing Dynamics
But the diminishment of their status as the game's gold standard will continue to rankle.
While the All Blacks excelled through the 2010s - securing eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as winning the World Cup on multiple times - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the balance of power moved in the global game.
New Zealand overcame South Africa in their opening match of the competition in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the final.
From that point, the New Zealand's success rate has fallen to 71%. South Africa themselves lost 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a rate (83%) to rival even the previous All Blacks side.
Head-to-Head
During the comparable duration, the South African team have won five of the seven meetings between the teams, including success in the recent championship match.
In claiming their latest regional title, South Africa administered a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team thanks to dominant performance in Wellington, a result which has sparked another series of controversy regarding the progress of the team under their leader.
Perhaps most concerning for followers of the New Zealand team will be that, alongside their traditional strength, the Springboks' success has come with an attacking verve more commonly connected with their own side.
Playing Philosophy
During the period when the New Zealand team were at the peak of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team capable of dismantling opponents from any part of the pitch and at any point of the match.
Currently, their offensive approach is more ambiguous as Robertson, who has given multiple new players during his two years in charge, tries to initially build the fundamental building blocks of a winning team.
It has already been confirmed that the supporting manager responsible for scoring, the current coach, will exit the team after the fall series, becoming the second member of management team to depart after Leon MacDonald left last year after just limited matches.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not only previous achievements, but his methodology, that was expected to carry over from his former team when he took over after the 2023 World Cup but, so far, each remain a ongoing development.
Commercial Considerations
After investment group the company acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the ensuing statement discussed the "pursuit of international expansion" for the organization.
That goal has perhaps been more difficult by the lack of a international celebrity. Their key player and the collection of Barrett brothers remain well-known figures in the game, but the distribution of stars has never been spread wider. The captain is the only All Black to earn global recognition in the recent years, in contrast to ten awards in over a decade between the mid-2000s.
Global Expansion
Rather, initiatives have been made to introduce the New Zealand team into new territories.
The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to Dublin but Chicago, a return to the location where the Irish team secured a first ever victory in the match in previous seasons.
After the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have furthermore
