Can the New Zealand rugby team find their magic during the fall tour?
Seeking what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their storied history, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.
Matches against the Irish team, Scotland, the English squad and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the opportunity to equal the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the annals of rugby, the fixtures will be used as a benchmark to evaluate the progress of the team under a head coach now 24 months into from taking up the reins.
Current Challenges
Questions over a shortage of an distinctive approach, ongoing discussions over team picks and leavings from the coaching ticket have all contributed to the perception that the best-known side in the game is now one in a period of transition.
Most pertinently, it is the decline in results from a previous peak set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has caused some to suggest that we have evolved beyond of the age of Kiwi superiority.
Past Performance
Before their travel for the fall series, it was revealed that during the following season, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will play the Springboks in a off-season matches termed 'a tour like no other'.
Historically the sport's top competitors, there is no question over who has recently got the better of what marketers have labeled 'The Ultimate Contest'.
In recent seasons, the South African team have secured a couple of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the home nations team to be viewed as the team of their era.
The All Blacks have persisted to beat the Irish team when it is crucial, beating their next challengers in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just a couple of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have beaten the Welsh side in each game since the sixties and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.
Evolving Landscape
But the loss of their status as the rugby's benchmark will continue to rankle.
Although the New Zealand team excelled through the 2010s - winning 87% of their Test matches, as well as claiming the global trophy on two occasions - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape changed in the world sport.
New Zealand beat the Springboks in their opening match of the tournament in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in the final.
From that point, the All Blacks' victory ratio has dropped to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves lost 10 of their next 26 Test matches but, commencing of 2023, have achieved victory at a percentage (83%) to match even the former Kiwi champions.
Recent Encounters
During the equivalent timeframe, the 'Boks have secured victory in the majority of the past fixtures between the opponents, featuring success in the latest global tournament decider.
During their pursuit of their current continental championship, South Africa inflicted a record 43-10 defeat on the All Blacks courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in the capital, a result which has sparked another wave of controversy regarding the direction of the team under the coach.
Possibly most troubling for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, combined with their usual power, South Africa's success has come with an attacking verve more commonly connected with their opposition team.
Playing Philosophy
At the time that the New Zealand team were at the zenith of their capabilities a decade past, they were a clinical transition team equipped of dismantling rivals from all areas of the pitch and at any moment of the match.
Today, their attacking style is unclear as their leader, who has given multiple new players during his 24 months in control, tries to initially build the more prosaic core elements of a competitive squad.
It has previously announced that the assistant coach overseeing scoring, Jason Holland, will leave his role after the upcoming matches, becoming the second member of the coaching staff to depart after another coach left last year after just a handful of games.
Team Development
It was not merely previous achievements, but his style, that was expected to transfer from previous club when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, so far, each are still a ongoing development.
Business Factors
When investment group investors acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in the past, the ensuing statement discussed the "quest of worldwide growth" for the brand.
That goal has possibly been harder by the lack of a international celebrity. Ardie Savea and the collection of family members are still recognizable personalities in the sport, but the distribution of key individuals has become more diverse. Savea is the only New Zealand player to receive World Player of the Year in the current era, in opposition to ten awards in over a decade between previous generations.
International Growth
Alternatively, attempts have been implemented to establish the All Blacks into previously untapped markets.
The opening phase of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a return to the location where Ireland achieved a landmark success in the fixture in previous seasons.
Since the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have additionally
