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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 interesting juncture.

Games against Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, in addition to the chance to match the sides of previous successful tours in the record books, the matches will be used as a measure to measure the development of the side under a leader now two years on from assuming control.

Present Difficulties

Questions over a lack of an identifiable style, enduring debates over player choices and departures from the backroom staff have all fueled the sense that the most famous squad in the game is currently one in a state of flux.

Most importantly, it is the dip in outcomes from a past excellence set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has led some to suggest that we have moved out of the period of All Black exceptionalism.

Team Record

Prior to their departure for the European tour, it was revealed that in the coming year, in the absence of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will face the Springboks in a warm-weather tour termed 'a tour like no other'.

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

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a pair of World Cups, three southern hemisphere titles and a tour against the home nations team to be regarded as the side of their era.

The All Blacks have maintained to beat Ireland when it counts most, defeating their next challengers in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just two of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have overcome Wales in every encounter since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

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

While the New Zealand team reigned supreme through the last ten years - winning 87% of their international games, as well as lifting the World Cup on several instances - the World Cup of 2019 can now be seen as when the balance of power shifted in the world sport.

The All Blacks overcame the Springboks in their first game of the tournament in Japan, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in the final.

After that event, the All Blacks' success rate has dropped to seventy-one percent. South Africa themselves lost 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, from the beginning of 2023, have achieved victory at a rate (eighty-three percent) to compete with even the previous All Blacks side.

Direct Competition

Throughout the equivalent timeframe, the Springboks have won five of the recent encounters between the teams, featuring success in the 2023 World Cup final.

While securing their latest southern hemisphere crown, the Springboks inflicted a record 43-10 defeat on the All Blacks courtesy of dominant performance in the capital, a outcome which has sparked another round of controversy about the development of the squad under their leader.

Maybe most troubling for followers of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their usual power, the Springboks' success has come with an attacking verve more typically linked with their opposition team.

Team Identity

When the All Blacks were at the peak of their abilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit equipped of shredding rivals from all areas of the playing surface and at any moment of the game.

Now, their attacking style is less defined as their leader, who has given 19 debuts during his recent tenure in charge, tries to initially build the more prosaic foundations of a competitive squad.

It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member in charge of attack, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the autumn tour, becoming the second member of the coaching staff to leave after previous staff member departed last year after just a handful of games.

Team Development

It was not just Robertson's success, but his methodology, that was anticipated to translate from his former team when he began his tenure after the global competition but, to date, the two aspects are still a work in progress.

Organizational Strategy

Following financial organization investors acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the following communication discussed the "search of new global opportunities" for the brand.

That task has maybe been more challenging by the lack of a global icon. Their key player and the trio of related players continue to be well-known figures in the sport, but the spread of stars has never been spread wider. The captain is the single All Black to win global recognition in the past six seasons, in contrast to 10 in over a decade between previous generations.

Global Expansion

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

The first leg of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to Dublin but Chicago, a revisit to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team secured a first ever victory in the contest in previous seasons.

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