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Aiming for what would be just a fifth tour victory in their legendary past, the All Blacks have headed north at an pivotal moment.

Games against Ireland, Scotland, the English squad and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the coming month but, in addition to the opportunity to join the sides of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the annals of rugby, the games will be used as a benchmark to evaluate the progress of the side under a leader now two years on from taking up the reins.

Current Challenges

Doubts over a absence of an identifiable style, continuing controversies over player choices and leavings from the management team have all added to the sense that the best-known side in the game is now one in a time of change.

Most pertinently, it is the decline in results from a past excellence set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to suggest that we have transitioned away of the period of All Black exceptionalism.

Past Performance

Ahead of their journey for the fall series, it was confirmed that next year, in the non-existence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will meet the Springboks in a summer series dubbed 'a unique competition'.

In the past the rugby's premier teams, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what organizers have described 'The Ultimate Contest'.

Over the past seven years, the Springboks have claimed a two of World Cups, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the northern hemisphere selection to be viewed as the side of their period.

New Zealand have maintained to overcome Ireland when it counts most, beating their next challengers in the World Cup quarter finals of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, been defeated in just two of the last fixtures with England, have defeated Wales in every encounter since over sixty years ago and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

But the loss of their position as the game's gold standard will persist as an irritation.

Although the All Blacks excelled through the last ten years - securing 87% of their fixtures, as well as lifting the World Cup on several instances - the World Cup of 2019 can now be regarded as when the hierarchical structure moved in the world sport.

New Zealand overcame the Springboks in their opening match of the championship in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were eventually successful in the championship match.

Since then, the All Blacks' victory ratio has fallen to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves were defeated in 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, commencing of last year, have won at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to rival even the last great New Zealand team.

Recent Encounters

During the comparable duration, the South African team have secured victory in five of the seven meetings between the teams, including triumph in the latest global tournament decider.

During their pursuit of their most recent continental championship, the Springboks inflicted a significant beating on the All Blacks courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a outcome which has triggered another round of debate regarding the development of the team under the coach.

Maybe most troubling for followers of the All Blacks will be that, combined with their characteristic physicality, South Africa's triumph has come with an offensive flair more usually associated with their opposition team.

Team Identity

At the time that the New Zealand team were at the height of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a devastating offensive machine able of dismantling opponents from every section of the playing surface and at all times of the game.

Now, their attacking style is more ambiguous as the coach, who has handed out multiple new players during his 24 months in command, tries to primarily create the fundamental foundations of a competitive squad.

It has recently revealed that the backroom staff member in charge of scoring, Jason Holland, will exit the team after the autumn tour, making him the next individual of the coaching staff to depart after another coach departed last year after just a handful of games.

Expectations vs Reality

It was not merely previous achievements, but his approach, that was expected to carry over from his former team when he assumed control after the global competition but, so far, both remain a continuous improvement.

Commercial Considerations

Following private equity firm investors acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in 2022, the following communication spoke of the "quest of international expansion" for the team.

That task has possibly been more challenging by the shortage of a international celebrity. Their key player and the trio of related players remain well-known figures in the rugby, but the distribution of key individuals has expanded significantly. The captain is the only New Zealand player to earn World Player of the Year in the recent years, in contrast to 10 in over a decade between the mid-2000s.

Global Expansion

Rather, efforts have been implemented to introduce the All Blacks into previously untapped markets.

The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but the American city, a revisit to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland secured a historic win in the fixture nine years ago.

Following the relaxation of health protocols, the All Blacks have also