🔗 Share this article

Pursuing what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have headed north at an interesting juncture.

Matches against the Irish team, Scotland, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, in addition to the possibility to match the teams of previous successful tours in the record books, the matches will be used as a yardstick to measure the development of the team under a head coach now two years on from beginning his tenure.

Team Issues

Concerns over a shortage of an distinctive approach, ongoing discussions over player choices and leavings from the management team have all fueled the feeling that the best-known side in the rugby 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 theorize that we have moved out of the period of New Zealand dominance.

Past Performance

Prior to their departure for the northern hemisphere, it was revealed that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will play South Africa in a warm-weather tour dubbed 'a unique competition'.

In the past the game's two strongest sides, 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 won a pair of World Cups, three southern hemisphere titles and a series against the home nations team to be considered as the squad of their period.

The All Blacks have maintained to beat the Irish team when it counts most, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, lost just two of the past 21 meetings with England, have defeated Wales in each game since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.

Evolving Landscape

But the loss of their position as the game's gold standard will continue to rankle.

Although the New Zealand team reigned supreme through the last ten years - winning 87% of their Test matches, as well as lifting the global trophy on two occasions - the World Cup of 2019 can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape shifted in the world sport.

New Zealand defeated the Springboks in their first game of the tournament in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in Yokohama.

From that point, the All Blacks' winning percentage has dropped to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves were defeated in 10 of their following games but, commencing of last year, have won at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to rival even the former Kiwi champions.

Direct Competition

During the comparable duration, the Springboks have secured victory in the majority of the recent encounters between the teams, featuring triumph in the 2023 World Cup final.

During their pursuit of their latest continental championship, the Springboks inflicted a significant beating on the All Blacks courtesy of dominant performance in their home ground, a outcome which has triggered another round of discussion regarding the development of the side under Robertson.

Perhaps most jarring for fans of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their characteristic physicality, South Africa's success has come with an offensive flair more typically linked with their opposition team.

Playing Philosophy

When the All Blacks were at the height of their capabilities a decade past, they were a clinical transition team equipped of dismantling opponents from all areas of the field and at any point of the match.

Today, their offensive approach is more ambiguous as the coach, who has handed out 19 debuts during his 24 months in control, tries to first establish the more prosaic building blocks of a successful side.

It has previously announced that the backroom staff member in charge of offense, their offensive coordinator, will depart his position after the autumn tour, making him the second member of Robertson's ticket to leave after another coach departed last year after just a handful of games.

Performance Gap

It was not only his winning record, but his methodology, that was predicted to transfer from previous club when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, as yet, both are still a continuous improvement.

Commercial Considerations

When financial organization the company bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the ensuing statement mentioned the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the brand.

That objective has perhaps been more difficult by the absence of a international celebrity. The current captain and the collection of Barrett brothers are still recognizable personalities in the rugby, but the concentration of stars has never been spread wider. Savea is the sole All Black to earn global recognition in the recent years, in opposition to 10 in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s.

International Growth

Instead, attempts have been undertaken to transplant the All Blacks into emerging regions.

The opening phase of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but the American city, a revisit to the stadium where Ireland obtained a first ever victory in the match nine years ago.

After the reduction of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have additionally