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Pursuing what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their legendary past, the New Zealand side have headed north at an pivotal moment.

Games against Ireland, the Scottish side, the English squad and the Welsh team await the New Zealand team across the next four weekends but, in addition to the chance to match the sides of previous successful tours in the history books, the games will be used as a measure to evaluate the development of the team under a head coach now well established from assuming control.

Present Difficulties

Concerns over a absence of an clear playing identity, enduring debates over selection and exits from the coaching ticket have all added to the sense that the most famous squad in the rugby is presently one in a time of change.

Most significantly, it is the decline in results from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to suggest that we have evolved beyond of the period of New Zealand dominance.

Team Record

Prior to their departure for the fall series, it was confirmed that next year, in the lack of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet the Springboks in a off-season matches termed 'a tour like no other'.

Historically the rugby's premier teams, there is little doubt over who has currently outperformed of what promoters have labeled 'The Premier Rivalry'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have secured a couple of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the northern hemisphere selection to be regarded as the squad of their era.

The All Blacks have continued to beat Ireland when it is crucial, defeating their next challengers in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just a pair of the recent encounters with the English team, have defeated the Welsh side in all matches since over sixty years ago and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

But the diminishment of their status as the rugby's benchmark will remain frustrating.

While the New Zealand team reigned supreme through the previous decade - winning eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as lifting the Webb Ellis on multiple times - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be viewed as when the balance of power moved in the world sport.

New Zealand beat the Springboks in their opening match of the championship in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in the championship match.

Since then, the All Blacks' winning percentage has fallen to 71%. The Springboks themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, from the beginning of 2023, have won at a frequency (83%) to match even the last great New Zealand team.

Direct Competition

Over the comparable duration, the Springboks have won the majority of the past fixtures between the sides, including victory in the 2023 World Cup final.

While securing their most recent continental championship, Rassie Erasmus' side administered a significant beating on the All Blacks through 36 unanswered second-half points in their home ground, a outcome which has ignited another series of debate about the development of the side under their leader.

Perhaps most jarring for fans of the All Blacks will be that, combined with their characteristic physicality, South Africa's triumph has come with an creative approach more typically linked with their traditional rivals.

Style Evolution

During the period when the New Zealand team were at the zenith of their powers in previous eras, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit capable of shredding rivals from any part of the field and at all times of the match.

Currently, their playing philosophy is less defined as their leader, who has given multiple new players during his recent tenure in command, tries to first establish the more prosaic foundations of a successful side.

It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member in charge of scoring, Jason Holland, will depart his position after the autumn tour, making him the additional person of management team to depart after previous staff member left last year after just a handful of games.

Team Development

It was not merely his winning record, but his approach, that was anticipated to carry over from previous club when he assumed control after the global competition but, to date, the two aspects continue to be a ongoing development.

Commercial Considerations

After private equity firm investors invested capital in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the ensuing statement spoke of the "pursuit of international expansion" for the team.

That task has perhaps been harder by the lack of a international celebrity. The current captain and the trio of family members remain household names in the rugby, but the distribution of talented players has never been spread wider. The captain is the sole All Black to receive global recognition in the past six seasons, in opposition to ten awards in multiple seasons between 2005 and '07.

Global Expansion

Rather, efforts have been implemented to establish the All Blacks into new territories.

The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to the Irish capital but the American city, a comeback to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team obtained a first ever victory in the contest in previous seasons.

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