Will the All Blacks regain their winning form during the fall tour?
Pursuing what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their legendary past, the All Blacks have traveled to Europe at an interesting juncture.
Matches against Ireland, the Scottish side, England and Wales await the All Blacks across the next four weekends but, quite aside from the chance to match the teams of previous successful tours in the history books, the matches will be used as a yardstick to assess the improvement of the team under a leader now two years on from taking up the reins.
Present Difficulties
Concerns over a shortage of an distinctive approach, enduring debates over player choices and leavings from the management team have all added to the sense that the most famous squad in the rugby is now one in a state of flux.
Most importantly, it is the dip in results from a historic high watermark set between the World Cups of the last decade that has caused some to speculate that we have transitioned away of the era of Kiwi superiority.
Past Performance
Prior to their departure for the fall series, it was revealed that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will play the Springboks in a summer series dubbed 'a unique competition'.
In the past the game's two strongest sides, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what promoters have described 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.
During the last decade, the South African team have claimed a couple of World Cups, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the home nations team to be regarded as the team of their era.
New Zealand have persisted to defeat the Irish team when it is crucial, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the World Cup quarter finals of the past two tournaments. They have, meanwhile, lost just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have defeated the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have always been victorious by the Scottish team.
Changing Dynamics
But the loss of their standing as the sport's measure of excellence will remain frustrating.
Whereas the New Zealand team dominated through the last ten years - winning eighty-seven percent of their Test matches, as well as claiming the World Cup on multiple times - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the balance of power shifted in the global game.
New Zealand beat South Africa in their opening match of the competition in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in the championship match.
After that event, the All Blacks' success rate has fallen to 71%. The Springboks themselves were defeated in 10 of their next 26 Test matches but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a rate (83%) to match even the former Kiwi champions.
Direct Competition
During the same period, the Springboks have won the majority of the past fixtures between the teams, including success in the latest global tournament decider.
During their pursuit of their latest regional title, the Springboks inflicted a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team courtesy of overwhelming display in their home ground, a result which has sparked another wave of controversy regarding the direction of the team under Robertson.
Maybe most jarring for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' achievement has come with an offensive flair more usually associated with their opposition team.
Team Identity
When the New Zealand team were at the zenith of their abilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit capable of dismantling opponents from all areas of the field and at all times of the game.
Now, their offensive approach is more ambiguous as their leader, who has handed out multiple new players during his 24 months in command, tries to first establish the fundamental building blocks of a competitive squad.
It has previously announced that the assistant coach responsible for attack, the current coach, will exit the team after the autumn tour, becoming the second member of management team to exit after another coach departed last year after just a handful of games.
Performance Gap
It was not merely Robertson's success, but his approach, that was expected to transfer from previous club when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, as yet, both remain a ongoing development.
Organizational Strategy
When financial organization Silver Lake invested capital in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the ensuing statement mentioned the "search of worldwide growth" for the team.
That objective has possibly been more difficult by the shortage of a international celebrity. Ardie Savea and the collection of Barrett brothers remain recognizable personalities in the sport, but the spread of talented players has never been spread wider. The captain is the only New Zealand player to earn international honors in the current era, in opposition to 10 in multiple seasons between 2005 and '07.
International Growth
Instead, initiatives have been implemented to transplant the New Zealand team into new territories.
The initial stage of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings the All Blacks not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a return to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team secured a first ever victory in the match in previous seasons.
Since the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also
