Can the All Blacks rediscover their spark during the fall tour?
Seeking what would be just a fifth tour victory in their storied history, the All Blacks have embarked on their tour at an interesting juncture.
Games against the Irish team, the Scottish side, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, quite aside from the possibility to match the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the games will be used as a measure to evaluate the improvement of the team under a manager now 24 months into from assuming control.
Current Challenges
Questions over a shortage of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over team picks and departures from the backroom staff have all fueled the sense that the most famous squad in the game is now one in a state of flux.
Most pertinently, it is the drop in results from a previous peak set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to theorize that we have moved out of the age of New Zealand dominance.
Recent History
Prior to their journey for the fall series, it was revealed that in the coming year, in the lack of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand will meet South Africa in a summer series called 'a tour like no other'.
Historically the sport's top competitors, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what marketers have described 'The Premier Rivalry'.
Over the past seven years, the Springboks have won a two of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the home nations team to be viewed as the side of their generation.
New Zealand have maintained to overcome the Irish team when it counts most, beating this weekend's rivals in the World Cup quarter finals of 2019 and '23. They have, at the same time, lost just two of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have beaten Wales in all matches since over sixty years ago and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.
Shifting Balance
But the diminishment of their status as the game's gold standard will continue to rankle.
Although the All Blacks reigned supreme through the last ten years - achieving eighty-seven percent of their fixtures, as well as winning the Webb Ellis on two occasions - the World Cup of 2019 can now be seen as when the hierarchical structure changed in the international rugby.
The All Blacks defeated the Springboks in their initial fixture of the tournament in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the championship match.
Since then, the All Blacks' success rate has declined to 71%. The Springboks themselves lost 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, from the beginning of last year, have won at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to rival even the former Kiwi champions.
Head-to-Head
During the equivalent timeframe, the South African team have secured victory in five of the recent encounters between the opponents, comprising triumph in the 2023 World Cup final.
During their pursuit of their most recent regional title, South Africa inflicted a record 43-10 defeat on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in their home ground, a score which has sparked another series of discussion concerning the progress of the team under Robertson.
Perhaps most jarring for supporters of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, South Africa's triumph has come with an creative approach more typically linked with their traditional rivals.
Playing Philosophy
During the period when the All Blacks were at the peak of their capabilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit equipped of destroying competitors from any part of the field and at any point of the match.
Now, their offensive approach is unclear as their leader, who has given numerous first caps during his 24 months in charge, tries to first establish the fundamental building blocks of a winning team.
It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member in charge of offense, the current coach, will leave his role after the fall series, becoming the next individual of Robertson's ticket to exit after previous staff member walked away last year after just limited matches.
Expectations vs Reality
It was not merely Robertson's success, but his style, that was anticipated to carry over from his former team when he began his tenure after the global competition but, as yet, the two aspects continue to be a continuous improvement.
Business Factors
After financial organization investors invested capital in All Blacks in 2022, the following communication discussed the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the brand.
That task has possibly been more difficult by the shortage of a global icon. Ardie Savea and the trio of Barrett brothers continue to be household names in the game, but the distribution of key individuals has never been spread wider. Their leader is the sole New Zealand player to receive global recognition in the past six seasons, in comparison to 10 in multiple seasons between previous generations.
Worldwide Reach
Alternatively, efforts have been undertaken to transplant the All Blacks into previously untapped markets.
The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but the American city, a comeback to the stadium where Ireland achieved a first ever victory in the match during past tours.
Since the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have furthermore