Will the All Blacks regain their magic during the fall tour?
Aiming for what would be just a fifth tour victory in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have embarked on their tour at an interesting juncture.
Matches against the Irish team, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await the All Blacks across the coming month but, beyond the opportunity to match the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the fixtures will be used as a measure to assess the development of the squad under a manager now two years on from beginning his tenure.
Team Issues
Questions over a absence of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over player choices and exits from the coaching ticket have all added to the feeling that the most recognisable team in the game is presently one in a period of transition.
Most significantly, it is the decline in results from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has led some to suggest that we have evolved beyond of the age of All Black exceptionalism.
Past Performance
Before their travel for the European tour, it was announced that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will face South Africa in a off-season matches called 'a unique competition'.
In the past the game's two strongest sides, there is little doubt over who has lately dominated of what promoters have called 'The Premier Rivalry'.
During the last decade, the South African team have secured a pair of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the home nations team to be regarded as the team of their period.
The All Blacks have continued to overcome Ireland when it counts most, defeating their next challengers in the global competition of recent years. They have, at the same time, lost just a pair of the recent encounters with the English team, have overcome the Welsh side in all matches since over sixty years ago and have remained unbeaten by Scotland.
Shifting Balance
But the diminishment of their standing as the rugby's benchmark will continue to rankle.
Whereas the New Zealand team dominated through the last ten years - winning eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as lifting the global trophy on multiple times - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be seen as when the hierarchical structure moved in the international rugby.
New Zealand defeated the Springboks in their initial fixture of the championship in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in the final.
Since then, the All Blacks' 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 achieved victory at a rate (83%) to compete with even the last great New Zealand team.
Recent Encounters
During the same period, the Springboks have secured victory in the majority of the recent encounters between the teams, featuring triumph in the latest global tournament decider.
In claiming their most recent continental championship, the Springboks delivered a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team through dominant performance in Wellington, a score which has ignited another series of discussion concerning the progress of the side under Robertson.
Possibly most concerning for fans of the All Blacks will be that, combined with their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' success has come with an creative approach more commonly connected with their own side.
Playing Philosophy
At the time that the New Zealand team were at the height of their abilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team capable of shredding rivals from every section of the pitch and at any point of the match.
Now, their offensive approach is less defined as the coach, who has given numerous first caps during his recent tenure in control, tries to first establish the basic foundations of a successful side.
It has previously announced that the supporting manager responsible for attack, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the upcoming matches, becoming the additional person of Robertson's ticket to depart after Leon MacDonald walked away last year after just a handful of games.
Team Development
It was not only his winning record, but his style, that was anticipated to carry over from his former team when he took over after the 2023 World Cup but, as yet, each continue to be a continuous improvement.
Commercial Considerations
After investment group Silver Lake acquired shares in All Blacks in 2022, the following communication mentioned the "search of worldwide growth" for the brand.
That goal has possibly been harder by the absence of a international celebrity. The current captain and the collection of Barrett brothers continue to be household names in the sport, but the concentration of talented players has never been spread wider. Their leader is the single All Black to earn international honors in the past six seasons, in opposition to ten awards in multiple seasons between 2005 and '07.
Global Expansion
Alternatively, initiatives have been implemented to introduce the All Blacks into new territories.
The first leg of this northern hemisphere series brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a comeback to the location where Ireland achieved a landmark success in the contest nine years ago.
Since the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also
