Will the All Blacks regain their winning form this autumn?
Pursuing what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have headed north at an interesting juncture.
Matches against the Irish team, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, quite aside from the opportunity to equal the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the games will be used as a measure to assess the improvement of the side under a leader now 24 months into from beginning his tenure.
Team Issues
Concerns over a shortage of an clear playing identity, continuing controversies over player choices and leavings from the coaching ticket have all fueled the sense that the best-known side in the game is currently one in a period of transition.
Most importantly, it is the dip in results from a past excellence set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has caused some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the era of Kiwi superiority.
Past Performance
Before their departure for the northern hemisphere, it was announced that next year, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet South Africa in a summer series dubbed 'a tour like no other'.
In the past the sport's top competitors, there is little doubt over who has lately dominated of what marketers have described 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.
In recent seasons, the Springboks have won a two of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a competition against the home nations team to be regarded as the team of their era.
New Zealand have maintained to beat the Irish team when it matters most, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, lost just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have beaten Wales in each game since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.
Evolving Landscape
But the loss of their position as the game's gold standard will continue to rankle.
Whereas the All Blacks excelled through the 2010s - securing 87% of their fixtures, as well as claiming the Webb Ellis on two occasions - the World Cup of 2019 can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape shifted in the global game.
New Zealand beat the Springboks in their initial fixture of the championship in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in Yokohama.
Since then, the All Blacks' winning percentage has declined to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves lost ten of their next 26 Test matches but, since the start of last year, have won at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to match even the former Kiwi champions.
Recent Encounters
During the same period, the 'Boks have won the majority of the past fixtures between the teams, featuring success in the latest global tournament decider.
While securing their current continental championship, the Springboks administered a historic loss on the New Zealand team courtesy of overwhelming display in their home ground, a score which has sparked another series of controversy about the development of the side under the coach.
Perhaps most troubling for supporters of the All Blacks will be that, combined with their usual power, South Africa's triumph has come with an offensive flair more usually associated with their own side.
Playing Philosophy
When the New Zealand team were at the zenith of their capabilities a decade past, they were a clinical transition team equipped of shredding rivals from every section of the field and at all times of the contest.
Now, their playing philosophy is unclear as Robertson, who has awarded multiple new players during his 24 months in command, tries to first establish the more prosaic building blocks of a successful side.
It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member responsible for scoring, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the autumn tour, making him the second member of management team to exit after previous staff member left last year after just limited matches.
Team Development
It was not merely his winning record, but his methodology, that was expected to carry over from his former team when he took over after the global competition but, so far, both remain a continuous improvement.
Business Factors
When financial organization the company bought a stake in All Blacks in the past, the ensuing statement mentioned the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the brand.
That goal has maybe been harder by the absence of a crossover star. The current captain and the group of family members are still recognizable personalities in the sport, but the distribution of key individuals has become more diverse. Their leader is the sole All Black to earn international honors in the past six seasons, in contrast to ten awards in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s.
Worldwide Reach
Rather, efforts have been undertaken to introduce the New Zealand team into previously untapped markets.
The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to Dublin but Chicago, a return to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland achieved a historic win in the contest in previous seasons.
Since the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also
