🔗 Share this article

Seeking what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their storied history, the New Zealand side have traveled to Europe at an pivotal moment.

Fixtures against the Irish team, Scotland, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, quite aside from the possibility to join the sides of previous successful tours in the record books, the games will be used as a benchmark to measure the development of the side under a manager now well established from taking up the reins.

Current Challenges

Concerns over a shortage of an identifiable style, enduring debates over selection and leavings from the management team have all added to the feeling that the most recognisable team in the sport is currently one in a period of transition.

Most importantly, it is the drop in results from a previous peak set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has caused some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the period of New Zealand dominance.

Team Record

Prior to their departure for the northern hemisphere, it was confirmed that in the coming year, in the lack of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet South Africa in a summer series dubbed 'a unique competition'.

In the past the sport's top competitors, there is no question over who has currently outperformed of what promoters have labeled 'The Ultimate Contest'.

In recent seasons, the Springboks have won a pair of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a competition against the northern hemisphere selection to be considered as the side of their period.

The All Blacks have continued to defeat Ireland when it is crucial, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, been defeated in just a pair of the past 21 meetings with England, have beaten the Welsh side in every encounter since over sixty years ago and have remained unbeaten by Scotland.

Shifting Balance

But the loss of their status as the rugby's benchmark will persist as an irritation.

While the All Blacks excelled through the 2010s - securing 87% of their international games, as well as lifting the Webb Ellis on two occasions - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be viewed as when the competitive landscape moved in the global game.

The All Blacks overcame the Springboks in their initial fixture of the competition in Japan, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the championship match.

After that event, the New Zealand's success rate has dropped to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, commencing of 2023, have won at a percentage (eighty-three percent) to rival even the former Kiwi champions.

Recent Encounters

Throughout the equivalent timeframe, the Springboks have won five of the seven meetings between the opponents, comprising success in the 2023 World Cup final.

While securing their most recent southern hemisphere crown, Rassie Erasmus' side delivered a historic loss on the All Blacks thanks to 36 unanswered second-half points in the capital, a outcome which has ignited another series of discussion concerning the development of the team under the coach.

Perhaps most concerning for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, combined with their traditional strength, South Africa's achievement has come with an attacking verve more typically linked with their own side.

Style Evolution

When the All Blacks were at the height of their powers a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit able of shredding rivals from every section of the field and at any moment of the game.

Now, their offensive approach is unclear as the coach, who has given numerous first caps during his two years in control, tries to initially build the more prosaic building blocks of a successful side.

It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member overseeing scoring, Jason Holland, will exit the team after the fall series, becoming the additional person of the coaching staff to depart after Leon MacDonald walked away last year after just limited matches.

Performance Gap

It was not only his winning record, but his approach, that was expected to carry over from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, so far, both remain a continuous improvement.

Commercial Considerations

After financial organization Silver Lake invested capital in All Blacks in recent years, the ensuing statement spoke of the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the brand.

That goal has maybe been more difficult by the absence of a crossover star. The current captain and the group of family members are still recognizable personalities in the game, but the distribution of talented players has never been spread wider. The captain is the only New Zealand player to earn global recognition in the recent years, in comparison to ten awards in multiple seasons between previous generations.

International Growth

Instead, efforts have been undertaken to introduce the New Zealand team into emerging regions.

The initial stage of this northern hemisphere series brings New Zealand not to Dublin but the American city, a revisit to the location where the Irish team achieved a landmark success in the fixture nine years ago.

Since the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have additionally