Can the All Blacks find their winning form during the fall tour?
Pursuing what would be just a fifth tour victory in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have traveled to Europe at an interesting juncture.
Matches against Ireland, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await the New Zealand team across the upcoming weeks but, beyond the possibility to join the sides of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the fixtures will be used as a benchmark to evaluate the progress of the side under a manager now 24 months into from beginning his tenure.
Team Issues
Concerns over a lack of an distinctive approach, continuing controversies over player choices and exits from the backroom staff have all fueled the perception that the most recognisable team in the sport is currently one in a time of change.
Most significantly, it is the dip in performances from a historic high watermark set between the World Cups of the last decade that has prompted some to theorize that we have moved out of the age of All Black exceptionalism.
Team Record
Before their travel for the northern hemisphere, it was revealed that next year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will face South Africa in a off-season matches called 'an unprecedented series'.
Historically the game's two strongest sides, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what organizers have labeled 'The Ultimate Contest'.
In recent seasons, the Springboks have secured a pair of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the home nations team to be viewed as the side of their generation.
New Zealand have continued to beat the Irish team when it counts most, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the World Cup quarter finals of recent years. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have overcome the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.
Changing Dynamics
But the decline of their standing as the game's gold standard will remain frustrating.
Whereas the New Zealand team dominated through the last ten years - achieving 87% of their international games, as well as claiming the global trophy on two occasions - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape changed in the global game.
New Zealand defeated South Africa in their initial fixture of the competition in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in Yokohama.
After that event, the All Blacks' victory ratio has dropped to 71%. South Africa themselves lost 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, from the beginning of 2023, have won at a frequency (83%) to compete with even the former Kiwi champions.
Recent Encounters
During the comparable duration, the 'Boks have won five of the past fixtures between the sides, featuring triumph in the 2023 World Cup final.
While securing their current southern hemisphere crown, the Springboks administered a significant beating on the New Zealand team through 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a result which has ignited another round of controversy about the progress of the squad under the coach.
Possibly most troubling for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their usual power, South Africa's triumph has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their own side.
Playing Philosophy
During the period when the New Zealand team were at the zenith of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team equipped of destroying rivals from all areas of the pitch and at any point of the contest.
Now, their playing philosophy is more ambiguous as the coach, who has handed out numerous first caps during his 24 months in command, tries to first establish the basic building blocks of a competitive squad.
It has recently revealed that the assistant coach responsible for offense, the current coach, will leave his role after the upcoming matches, making him the additional person of the coaching staff to depart after Leon MacDonald walked away last year after just five Tests.
Team Development
It was not only previous achievements, but his style, that was expected to carry over from his former team when he took over after the recent tournament but, to date, both are still a work in progress.
Business Factors
After financial organization investors acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in the past, the ensuing statement spoke of the "search of international expansion" for the team.
That objective has perhaps been more difficult by the shortage of a international celebrity. Their key player and the trio of family members are still household names in the sport, but the spread of talented players has expanded significantly. Their leader is the only All Black to earn World Player of the Year in the current era, in opposition to 10 in multiple seasons between previous generations.
Worldwide Reach
Rather, initiatives have been undertaken to introduce the All Blacks into emerging regions.
The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to Dublin but the American city, a return to the stadium where the Irish team secured a historic win in the fixture during past tours.
Following the easing of health protocols, the New Zealand team have additionally