Will the New Zealand rugby team find their winning form this autumn?
Seeking what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their legendary past, the New Zealand side have embarked on their tour at an crucial period.
Games against Ireland, the Scottish side, the English squad and the Welsh team await the New Zealand team across the coming month but, in addition to the possibility to match the sides of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the games will be used as a measure to assess the development of the team under a head coach now 24 months into from assuming control.
Current Challenges
Doubts over a shortage of an clear playing identity, continuing controversies over player choices and leavings from the management team have all added to the feeling that the best-known side in the game is now one in a state of flux.
Most pertinently, it is the dip in performances from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has caused some to speculate that we have transitioned away of the period of New Zealand dominance.
Team Record
Prior to their travel for the fall series, it was revealed that during the following season, in the non-existence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will face South Africa in a warm-weather tour called 'an unprecedented series'.
In the past the game's two strongest sides, there is clear agreement over who has recently got the better of what marketers have called 'The Premier Rivalry'.
Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a two of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be considered as the squad of their generation.
New Zealand have maintained to overcome Ireland when it matters most, beating their next challengers in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, meanwhile, lost just a couple of the past 21 meetings with England, have defeated the Welsh side in each game since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.
Evolving Landscape
But the loss of their standing as the rugby's benchmark will remain frustrating.
Although the New Zealand team dominated through the 2010s - achieving eighty-seven percent of their Test matches, as well as winning the Webb Ellis on several instances - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the balance of power shifted in the international rugby.
New Zealand defeated the Springboks in their opening match of the competition in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were eventually successful in the final.
From that point, the New Zealand's victory ratio has fallen to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a frequency (83%) to match even the former Kiwi champions.
Head-to-Head
Throughout the comparable duration, the South African team have secured victory in five of the past fixtures between the sides, comprising triumph in the latest global tournament decider.
In claiming their most recent regional title, South Africa inflicted a historic loss on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in their home ground, a score which has sparked another round of controversy concerning the direction of the team under their leader.
Perhaps most jarring for fans of the All Blacks will be that, allied to their characteristic physicality, South Africa's success has come with an offensive flair more usually associated with their own side.
Style Evolution
At the time that the New Zealand team were at the height of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit capable of destroying competitors from every section of the pitch and at all times of the match.
Today, their attacking style is more ambiguous as Robertson, who has awarded 19 debuts during his recent tenure in command, tries to first establish the more prosaic building blocks of a competitive squad.
It has previously announced that the supporting manager in charge of attack, their offensive coordinator, will depart his position after the fall series, becoming the additional person of Robertson's ticket to leave after previous staff member walked away last year after just limited matches.
Performance Gap
It was not merely previous achievements, but his style, that was predicted to translate from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, as yet, both remain a work in progress.
Commercial Considerations
Following financial organization Silver Lake acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the ensuing statement spoke of the "search of worldwide growth" for the team.
That task has maybe been more challenging by the shortage of a crossover star. The current captain and the collection of related players are still household names in the sport, but the distribution of talented players has never been spread wider. The captain is the single All Black to earn international honors in the current era, in comparison to 10 in 13 years between 2005 and '07.
Global Expansion
Rather, initiatives have been made to establish the All Blacks into new territories.
The opening phase of this European campaign brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but the American city, a revisit to the stadium where the Irish team secured a first ever victory in the fixture during past tours.
Since the reduction of health protocols, the New Zealand team have furthermore
