Can the All Blacks find their spark during the fall tour?
Aiming for what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have headed north at an pivotal moment.
Matches against the Irish team, Scotland, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, in addition to the chance to equal the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the games will be used as a measure to assess the development of the squad under a head coach now well established from beginning his tenure.
Team Issues
Questions over a shortage of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over selection and departures from the management team have all added to the perception that the best-known side in the game is presently one in a time of change.
Most pertinently, it is the drop in performances from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of the last decade that has caused some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the era of New Zealand dominance.
Past Performance
Before their journey for the fall series, it was confirmed that during the following season, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand will meet South Africa in a summer series termed 'an unprecedented series'.
Traditionally the rugby's premier teams, there is clear agreement over who has currently outperformed of what promoters have labeled 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.
Over the past seven years, the South African team have secured a pair of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be regarded as the side of their era.
New Zealand have persisted to defeat the Irish team when it counts most, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, meanwhile, been defeated in just a couple of the recent encounters with England, have beaten Wales in each game since the sixties and have always been victorious by Scotland.
Evolving Landscape
But the diminishment of their position as the sport's measure of excellence will remain frustrating.
While the All Blacks excelled through the 2010s - winning 87% of their international games, as well as lifting the Webb Ellis on multiple times - the World Cup of 2019 can now be seen as when the balance of power shifted in the global game.
The All Blacks overcame the Springboks in their opening match of the championship in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in Yokohama.
Since then, the All Blacks' success rate has dropped to 71%. The Springboks themselves lost ten of their following games but, commencing of 2023, have achieved victory at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to compete with even the last great New Zealand team.
Recent Encounters
During the equivalent timeframe, the South African team have won five of the recent encounters between the sides, featuring victory in the 2023 World Cup final.
In claiming their current regional title, Rassie Erasmus' side administered a historic loss on the New Zealand team thanks to dominant performance in the capital, a score which has sparked another series of discussion regarding the development of the squad under the coach.
Maybe most concerning for followers of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' achievement has come with an creative approach more commonly connected with their traditional rivals.
Style Evolution
At the time that the New Zealand team were at the peak of their capabilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit capable of shredding rivals from all areas of the pitch and at any point of the contest.
Today, their offensive approach is unclear as the coach, who has given multiple new players during his 24 months in command, tries to initially build the basic core elements of a competitive squad.
It has recently revealed that the backroom staff member overseeing attack, their offensive coordinator, will leave his role after the upcoming matches, making him the second member of Robertson's ticket to leave after previous staff member walked away last year after just limited matches.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not merely Robertson's success, but his style, that was expected to translate from his former team when he assumed control after the global competition but, so far, both continue to be a continuous improvement.
Organizational Strategy
After private equity firm the company bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in the past, the subsequent announcement discussed the "quest of international expansion" for the team.
That task has perhaps been more challenging by the shortage of a global icon. Ardie Savea and the trio of related players remain well-known figures in the game, but the distribution of key individuals has never been spread wider. Their leader is the only All Black to win World Player of the Year in the recent years, in contrast to 10 in 13 years between 2005 and '07.
Global Expansion
Instead, 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 stadium where Ireland achieved a landmark success in the fixture in previous seasons.
Following the reduction of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have furthermore
