Can the All Blacks regain their magic during the fall tour?
Aiming for what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their illustrious legacy, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.
Games against Ireland, the Scottish side, England and Wales await the New Zealand team across the next four weekends but, quite aside from the possibility to join the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the annals of rugby, the fixtures will be used as a measure to measure the progress of the team under a leader now 24 months into from assuming control.
Present Difficulties
Questions over a shortage of an distinctive approach, ongoing discussions over player choices and exits from the management team have all added to the feeling that the most famous squad in the game is now one in a period of transition.
Most importantly, it is the drop in results from a previous peak set between the global tournaments of the last decade that has prompted some to theorize that we have moved out of the period of Kiwi superiority.
Past Performance
Prior to their travel for the European tour, it was revealed that during the following season, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet South Africa in a warm-weather tour called 'a unique competition'.
Traditionally the game's two strongest sides, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what marketers have described 'The Ultimate Contest'.
In recent seasons, the South African team have secured a pair of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a series against the northern hemisphere selection to be viewed as the team of their era.
The All Blacks have maintained to overcome Ireland when it counts most, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the World Cup quarter finals of 2019 and '23. They have, meanwhile, been defeated in just a pair of the past 21 meetings with England, have defeated Wales in every encounter since the sixties and have remained unbeaten 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 reigned supreme through the last ten years - winning 87% of their fixtures, as well as claiming the World Cup on two occasions - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape shifted in the global game.
New Zealand overcame South Africa in their opening match of the championship in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in the championship match.
After that event, the New Zealand's victory ratio has dropped to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves were defeated in ten of their next 26 Test matches but, commencing of 2023, have won at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to rival even the previous All Blacks side.
Direct Competition
During the comparable duration, the Springboks have won the majority of the past fixtures between the opponents, comprising success in the 2023 World Cup final.
While securing their latest southern hemisphere crown, the Springboks administered a historic loss on the New Zealand team thanks to dominant performance in their home ground, a result which has ignited another round of controversy concerning the direction of the side under Robertson.
Possibly most concerning for followers of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' triumph has come with an attacking verve more usually associated with their traditional rivals.
Team Identity
When the All Blacks were at the height of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team able of shredding competitors from all areas of the pitch and at all times of the contest.
Currently, their playing philosophy is unclear as their leader, who has handed out multiple new players during his two years in charge, tries to initially build the more prosaic foundations of a competitive squad.
It has previously announced that the assistant coach in charge of attack, their offensive coordinator, will leave his role after the autumn tour, becoming the additional person of management team to depart after Leon MacDonald left last year after just five Tests.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not only his winning record, but his methodology, that was anticipated to carry over from Crusaders when he took over after the global competition but, as yet, each are still a work in progress.
Commercial Considerations
When financial organization Silver Lake invested capital in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the following communication spoke of the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the organization.
That goal has perhaps been more challenging by the shortage of a international celebrity. Their key player and the group of Barrett brothers are still well-known figures in the sport, but the distribution of stars has become more diverse. Their leader is the sole All Black to win international honors in the current era, in comparison to ten awards in 13 years between 2005 and '07.
Global Expansion
Instead, attempts have been made to transplant the New Zealand team into previously untapped markets.
The first leg of this northern hemisphere series brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but the American city, a revisit to the stadium where Ireland achieved a landmark success in the match in previous seasons.
After the reduction of health protocols, the All Blacks have additionally
