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Aiming for what would be just a fifth tour victory in their legendary past, the New Zealand side have embarked on their tour at an interesting juncture.

Matches against Ireland, Scotland, the English squad and Wales await the All Blacks across the coming month but, quite aside from the possibility to join the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the fixtures will be used as a yardstick to measure the development of the side under a head coach now well established from taking up the reins.

Current Challenges

Doubts over a lack of an identifiable style, ongoing discussions over player choices and exits from the management team have all fueled the perception that the best-known side in the sport is now one in a time of change.

Most significantly, it is the drop in performances from a previous peak set between the World Cups of the last decade that has prompted some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the age of All Black exceptionalism.

Team Record

Ahead of their journey for the European tour, it was announced that next year, in the non-existence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet the Springboks in a off-season matches termed 'a unique competition'.

Traditionally the game's two strongest sides, there is no question over who has recently got the better of what organizers have labeled 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

During the last decade, the Springboks have won a pair of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be considered as the side of their generation.

New Zealand have maintained to beat Ireland when it counts most, beating their next challengers in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, lost just two of the recent encounters with the English team, have defeated Wales in each game since the sixties and have remained unbeaten by Scotland.

Evolving Landscape

But the decline of their standing as the rugby's benchmark will continue to rankle.

Although the All Blacks reigned supreme through the last ten years - achieving 87% of their fixtures, as well as winning the Webb Ellis on several instances - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be regarded as when the balance of power shifted in the world sport.

New Zealand beat South Africa in their first game of the competition in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in Yokohama.

Since then, the All Blacks' success rate has declined to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves were defeated in ten of their next 26 Test matches but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to compete with even the last great New Zealand team.

Head-to-Head

Throughout the comparable duration, the 'Boks have won the majority of the recent encounters between the sides, including triumph in the latest global tournament decider.

During their pursuit of their latest southern hemisphere crown, Rassie Erasmus' side administered a historic loss on the All Blacks courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a score which has ignited another series of discussion about the direction of the side under their leader.

Possibly most jarring for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their traditional strength, South Africa's achievement has come with an offensive flair more typically linked with their traditional rivals.

Playing Philosophy

When the All Blacks were at the height of their abilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team capable of dismantling rivals from any part of the playing surface and at any moment of the contest.

Currently, their playing philosophy is less defined as the coach, who has awarded multiple new players during his 24 months in charge, tries to primarily create the more prosaic building blocks of a successful side.

It has already been confirmed that the assistant coach in charge of attack, their offensive coordinator, will leave his role after the upcoming matches, becoming the next individual of the coaching staff to exit after Leon MacDonald left last year after just limited matches.

Team Development

It was not only Robertson's success, but his style, that was anticipated to transfer from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the global competition but, to date, each are still a ongoing development.

Organizational Strategy

Following financial organization the company acquired shares in All Blacks in 2022, the ensuing statement mentioned the "search of worldwide growth" for the organization.

That goal has perhaps been harder by the shortage of a crossover star. The current captain and the trio of Barrett brothers remain household names in the rugby, but the distribution of key individuals has become more diverse. The captain is the sole New Zealand player to win international honors in the recent years, in contrast to 10 in multiple seasons between 2005 and '07.

Worldwide Reach

Rather, initiatives have been made to establish the New Zealand team into new territories.

The opening phase of this northern hemisphere series brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but the American city, a comeback to the location where the Irish team achieved a first ever victory in the contest during past tours.

After the reduction of pandemic limitations, the New Zealand team have furthermore