Can the All Blacks find their winning form during the fall tour?
Aiming for what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their storied history, the All Blacks have traveled to Europe at an interesting juncture.
Games against the Irish team, Scotland, the English squad and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the chance to match the squads of previous successful tours in the record books, the games will be used as a measure to evaluate the development of the team under a manager now well established from assuming control.
Present Difficulties
Questions over a lack of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over player choices and departures from the coaching ticket have all fueled the feeling that the most famous squad in the sport is presently one in a state of flux.
Most pertinently, it is the drop in results from a past excellence set between the global tournaments of the last decade that has caused some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the period of Kiwi superiority.
Recent History
Prior to their departure for the European tour, it was confirmed that next year, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand will face South Africa in a off-season matches called 'an unprecedented series'.
In the past the sport's top competitors, there is clear agreement over who has currently outperformed of what marketers have described 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.
During the last decade, the Springboks have claimed a pair of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the British and Irish Lions to be viewed as the squad of their era.
New Zealand have maintained to defeat the Irish team when it matters most, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the World Cup quarter finals of the past two tournaments. They have, additionally, lost just a pair of the last fixtures with the English team, have overcome Wales in each game since over sixty years ago and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.
Evolving Landscape
But the diminishment of their standing as the game's gold standard will persist as an irritation.
While the New Zealand team reigned supreme through the last ten years - winning 87% of their fixtures, as well as winning the Webb Ellis on several instances - the global tournament of 2019 can now be viewed as when the competitive landscape shifted in the global game.
The All Blacks beat South Africa in their first game of the competition in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were ultimately triumphant in the final.
Since then, the New Zealand's victory ratio has dropped to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves were defeated in 10 of their next 26 Test matches but, from the beginning of 2023, have achieved victory at a percentage (83%) to compete with even the last great New Zealand team.
Direct Competition
Over the equivalent timeframe, the South African team have won the majority of the seven meetings between the opponents, comprising triumph in the 2023 World Cup final.
During their pursuit of their latest regional title, South Africa delivered a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team through 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a outcome which has ignited another wave of discussion regarding the development of the team under Robertson.
Possibly most jarring for supporters of the All Blacks will be that, allied to their traditional strength, South Africa's triumph has come with an creative approach more typically linked with their own side.
Team Identity
During the period when the All Blacks were at the height of their capabilities 10 years ago, they were a clinical transition team capable of dismantling rivals from all areas of the pitch and at any point of the contest.
Currently, their playing philosophy is unclear as Robertson, who has given multiple new players during his two years in charge, tries to initially build the basic building blocks of a competitive squad.
It has already been confirmed that the supporting manager overseeing scoring, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the fall series, becoming the second member of the coaching staff to leave after previous staff member departed last year after just a handful of games.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not just his winning record, but his methodology, that was anticipated to transfer from his former team when he began his tenure after the global competition but, so far, the two aspects continue to be a continuous improvement.
Business Factors
Following financial organization Silver Lake acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the following communication spoke of the "search of new global opportunities" for the team.
That task has perhaps been more challenging by the absence of a international celebrity. Their key player and the collection of related players remain recognizable personalities in the game, but the concentration of key individuals has expanded significantly. Savea is the only All Black to receive World Player of the Year in the recent years, in comparison to 10 in multiple seasons between 2005 and '07.
International Growth
Instead, attempts have been implemented to transplant the All Blacks into new territories.
The initial stage of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a return to the location where Ireland secured a historic win in the contest in previous seasons.
Since the easing of health protocols, the All Blacks have furthermore
