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Pursuing what would be just a fifth tour victory in their legendary past, the All Blacks have embarked on their tour at an crucial period.

Matches against Ireland, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await the New Zealand team across the coming month but, quite aside from the chance to equal the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the games will be used as a yardstick to measure the progress of the side under a head coach now well established from beginning his tenure.

Present Difficulties

Doubts over a absence of an distinctive approach, ongoing discussions over player choices and departures from the backroom staff have all contributed to the feeling that the best-known side in the sport is currently one in a state of flux.

Most pertinently, it is the dip in performances from a historic high watermark set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to suggest that we have transitioned away of the period of Kiwi superiority.

Recent History

Ahead of their travel for the fall series, it was announced that next year, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will play South Africa in a summer series dubbed 'a tour like no other'.

Traditionally the sport's top competitors, there is no question over who has recently got the better of what organizers have described 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a couple of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the home nations team to be considered as the team of their generation.

New Zealand have persisted to overcome Ireland when it is crucial, defeating their next challengers in the World Cup quarter finals of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, lost just two of the last fixtures with England, have overcome Wales in all matches since the sixties and have remained unbeaten by Scotland.

Shifting Balance

But the loss of their position as the sport's measure of excellence will persist as an irritation.

Whereas the All Blacks dominated through the last ten years - securing eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as claiming the World Cup on multiple times - the World Cup of 2019 can now be seen as when the competitive landscape moved in the world sport.

New Zealand overcame South Africa in their initial fixture of the competition in Japan, but it was the Boks' who were eventually successful in the final.

From that point, the All Blacks' success rate has declined to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves lost ten of their next 26 Test matches but, since the start of 2023, have achieved victory at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to compete with even the former Kiwi champions.

Head-to-Head

Throughout the same period, the 'Boks have secured victory in the majority of the seven meetings between the teams, including triumph in the recent championship match.

While securing their most recent regional title, the Springboks administered a historic loss on the All Blacks through overwhelming display in the capital, a outcome which has triggered another wave of controversy regarding the direction of the side under the coach.

Possibly most troubling for followers of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, South Africa's achievement has come with an offensive flair more usually associated with their opposition team.

Playing Philosophy

During the period when the New Zealand team were at the peak of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team able of dismantling rivals from every section of the playing surface and at any point of the contest.

Today, their playing philosophy is less defined as Robertson, who has awarded multiple new players during his two years in command, tries to initially build the more prosaic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has previously announced 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 the coaching staff to leave after Leon MacDonald walked away last year after just a handful of games.

Team Development

It was not merely previous achievements, but his approach, that was predicted to translate from previous club when he assumed control after the recent tournament but, as yet, the two aspects remain a ongoing development.

Commercial Considerations

When financial organization Silver Lake bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the following communication discussed the "quest of worldwide growth" for the team.

That objective has possibly been more difficult by the shortage of a international celebrity. The current captain and the trio of family members are still well-known figures in the sport, but the spread of key individuals has become more diverse. The captain is the only New Zealand player to win World Player of the Year in the past six seasons, in opposition to ten awards in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s.

Worldwide Reach

Alternatively, attempts have been undertaken to introduce the All Blacks into emerging regions.

The first leg of this northern hemisphere series brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but the American city, a comeback to the location where Ireland obtained a historic win in the contest nine years ago.

Following the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have also