Can the New Zealand rugby team regain their winning form during the fall tour?
Pursuing what would be just a fifth tour victory in their legendary past, the All Blacks have headed north at an interesting juncture.
Games against Ireland, Scotland, the English squad and the Welsh team await the New Zealand team across the upcoming weeks but, beyond the possibility to equal the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the fixtures will be used as a benchmark to measure the improvement of the team under a head coach now 24 months into from beginning his tenure.
Present Difficulties
Questions over a lack of an clear playing identity, enduring debates over team picks and leavings from the backroom staff have all fueled the sense that the best-known side in the sport is currently one in a state of flux.
Most pertinently, it is the drop in results from a previous peak set between the World Cups of the last decade that has caused some to speculate that we have moved out of the period of Kiwi superiority.
Recent History
Prior to their journey for the European tour, it was announced that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will play the Springboks in a warm-weather tour termed 'an unprecedented series'.
In the past the sport's top competitors, there is little doubt over who has lately dominated of what marketers have called 'The Ultimate Contest'.
In recent seasons, the Springboks have claimed a two of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the northern hemisphere selection to be considered as the side of their generation.
New Zealand have continued to beat the Irish team when it counts most, overcoming their next challengers in the World Cup quarter finals of recent years. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just a couple of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have defeated Wales in all matches since the sixties and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.
Evolving Landscape
But the decline of their status as the game's gold standard will continue to rankle.
Although the All Blacks dominated through the 2010s - winning eighty-seven percent of their Test matches, as well as winning the global trophy on several instances - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be viewed as when the hierarchical structure moved in the global game.
New Zealand overcame the Springboks in their opening match of the competition in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the final.
Since then, the All Blacks' success rate has fallen to 71%. South Africa themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, since the start of 2023, have achieved victory at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to match even the previous All Blacks side.
Direct Competition
Over the same period, the Springboks have won five of the recent encounters between the sides, comprising success in the recent championship match.
During their pursuit of their latest continental championship, South Africa delivered a significant beating on the New Zealand team thanks to overwhelming display in their home ground, a result which has triggered another round of discussion about the direction of the squad under their leader.
Maybe most troubling for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, South Africa's triumph has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their opposition team.
Team Identity
During the period when the All Blacks were at the peak of their powers in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team equipped of dismantling opponents from any part of the pitch and at all times of the game.
Now, their playing philosophy is less defined as the coach, who has handed out numerous first caps during his recent tenure in control, tries to primarily create the more prosaic building blocks of a winning team.
It has recently revealed that the assistant coach overseeing offense, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the fall series, becoming the next individual of Robertson's ticket to exit after Leon MacDonald departed last year after just limited matches.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not just his winning record, but his approach, that was expected to transfer from his former team when he assumed control after the recent tournament but, as yet, each remain a continuous improvement.
Commercial Considerations
When private equity firm Silver Lake invested capital in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the following communication discussed the "pursuit of international expansion" for the organization.
That objective has possibly been more difficult by the shortage of a crossover star. Ardie Savea and the trio of Barrett brothers remain well-known figures in the sport, but the concentration of stars has never been spread wider. Their leader is the only All Black to win global recognition in the recent years, in comparison to 10 in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s.
Worldwide Reach
Alternatively, efforts have been implemented to establish the New Zealand team into new territories.
The initial stage of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but Chicago, a revisit to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team obtained a first ever victory in the fixture in previous seasons.
After the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have furthermore