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Pursuing what would be just a fifth tour victory in their storied history, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.

Fixtures against Ireland, the Scottish side, England and Wales await the New Zealand team across the coming month but, beyond the opportunity to equal the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the matches will be used as a measure to measure the improvement of the side under a head coach now well established from beginning his tenure.

Current Challenges

Doubts over a shortage of an identifiable style, ongoing discussions over player choices and exits from the management team have all fueled the sense that the best-known side in the sport is presently one in a time of change.

Most pertinently, it is the dip in results from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has led some to speculate that we have transitioned away of the era of Kiwi superiority.

Recent History

Before their departure for the fall series, it was confirmed that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will face South Africa in a summer series dubbed 'an unprecedented series'.

Traditionally the sport's top competitors, there is clear agreement over who has currently outperformed of what promoters have called 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a two of World Cups, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be considered as the squad of their era.

The All Blacks have maintained to beat the Irish team when it counts most, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the global competition of recent years. They have, additionally, lost just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have overcome Wales in all matches since over sixty years ago and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.

Evolving Landscape

But the decline of their standing as the sport's measure of excellence will persist as an irritation.

While the All Blacks dominated through the last ten years - achieving eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as winning the Webb Ellis on several instances - the World Cup of 2019 can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape moved in the global game.

The All Blacks beat South Africa in their opening match of the tournament in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in the final.

Since then, the New Zealand's success rate has declined to 71%. The Springboks themselves were defeated in ten of their next 26 Test matches but, from the beginning of last year, have won at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to match even the previous All Blacks side.

Head-to-Head

Over the equivalent timeframe, the Springboks have won the majority of the past fixtures between the opponents, featuring triumph in the latest global tournament decider.

While securing their current southern hemisphere crown, South Africa inflicted a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team courtesy of dominant performance in their home ground, a outcome which has triggered another wave of debate concerning the development of the side under their leader.

Perhaps most jarring for supporters of the All Blacks will be that, allied to their usual power, the Springboks' achievement has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their own side.

Team Identity

At the time that the All Blacks were at the height of their capabilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit able of shredding rivals from all areas of the field and at all times of the contest.

Currently, their attacking style is more ambiguous as their leader, who has given multiple new players during his 24 months in command, tries to primarily create the more prosaic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has already been confirmed that the supporting manager responsible for scoring, the current coach, will exit the team after the upcoming matches, making him the next individual of Robertson's ticket to exit after Leon MacDonald left last year after just a handful of games.

Team Development

It was not just Robertson's success, but his style, that was expected to translate from his former team when he assumed control after the global competition but, as yet, both continue to be a work in progress.

Business Factors

When financial organization investors invested capital in All Blacks in 2022, the ensuing statement discussed the "pursuit of worldwide growth" for the organization.

That task has perhaps been more difficult by the shortage of a international celebrity. The current captain and the collection of Barrett brothers are still household names in the sport, but the spread of talented players has expanded significantly. Their leader is the sole New Zealand player to win international honors in the recent years, in opposition to ten awards in over a decade between 2005 and '07.

International Growth

Rather, initiatives have been implemented to transplant the All Blacks into new territories.

The first leg of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a comeback to the location where Ireland obtained a first ever victory in the contest in previous seasons.

After the reduction of health protocols, the New Zealand team have furthermore