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Pursuing what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their storied history, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.

Fixtures against the Irish team, the Scottish side, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, in addition to the opportunity to match the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the matches will be used as a measure to evaluate the progress of the squad under a head coach now well established from assuming control.

Team Issues

Doubts over a absence of an clear playing identity, ongoing discussions over team picks and exits from the coaching ticket have all added to the sense that the most famous squad in the sport is presently one in a state of flux.

Most significantly, it is the dip in results from a historic high watermark set between the World Cups of the last decade that has prompted some to speculate that we have transitioned away of the era of All Black exceptionalism.

Team Record

Before their departure for the fall series, it was confirmed that during the following season, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will face the Springboks in a summer series dubbed 'a unique competition'.

Historically the rugby's premier teams, there is little doubt over who has lately dominated of what promoters have labeled 'The Ultimate Contest'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a pair of World Cups, three Rugby Championships and a competition against the home nations team to be considered as the team of their generation.

The All Blacks have persisted to overcome Ireland when it matters most, beating this weekend's rivals in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, meanwhile, lost just a couple of the recent encounters with the English team, have beaten the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

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

Although the All Blacks dominated through the last ten years - securing eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as lifting the global trophy on several instances - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be viewed as when the balance of power moved in the world sport.

New Zealand defeated South Africa in their opening match of the competition in Japan, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the championship match.

From that point, the New Zealand's success rate has declined to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves lost 10 of their following games but, commencing of last year, have won at a rate (eighty-three percent) to match even the previous All Blacks side.

Head-to-Head

Over the same period, the 'Boks have won five of the past fixtures between the opponents, featuring victory in the 2023 World Cup final.

During their pursuit of their current regional title, South Africa administered a significant beating on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in their home ground, a score which has sparked another wave of discussion about the development of the squad under Robertson.

Possibly most concerning for followers of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, South Africa's triumph has come with an attacking verve more usually associated with their traditional rivals.

Team Identity

During the period when the All Blacks were at the peak of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team able of shredding opponents from any part of the playing surface and at all times of the match.

Now, their offensive approach is less defined as Robertson, who has awarded 19 debuts during his recent tenure in command, tries to initially build the basic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has already been confirmed that the supporting manager in charge of scoring, their offensive coordinator, will depart his position after the autumn tour, making him the second member of management team to leave after Leon MacDonald departed last year after just limited matches.

Team Development

It was not only Robertson's success, but his approach, that was predicted to transfer from previous club when he took over after the global competition but, to date, the two aspects are still a continuous improvement.

Business Factors

When financial organization Silver Lake bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the following communication spoke of the "search of new global opportunities" for the organization.

That goal has possibly been more challenging by the lack of a international celebrity. Ardie Savea and the trio of family members continue to be well-known figures in the game, but the distribution of stars has never been spread wider. Savea is the only All Black to win global recognition in the past six seasons, in opposition to ten awards in over a decade between 2005 and '07.

Global Expansion

Rather, attempts have been made to introduce the All Blacks into new territories.

The opening phase 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 Ireland obtained a historic win in the match in previous seasons.

Since the reduction of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also