Can the New Zealand rugby team find their winning form this autumn?

Seeking what would be just a fifth tour victory in their storied history, the All Blacks have embarked on their tour at an interesting juncture.

Matches against the Irish team, Scotland, the English squad and Wales await the New Zealand team across the coming month but, quite aside from the chance to join the sides of previous successful tours in the record books, the games will be used as a yardstick to measure the improvement of the team under a manager now two years on from assuming control.

Team Issues

Concerns over a shortage of an clear playing identity, enduring debates over player choices and exits from the coaching ticket have all added to the perception that the best-known side in the sport is presently one in a state of flux.

Most importantly, it is the drop in outcomes from a past excellence set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has led some to suggest that we have evolved beyond of the age of New Zealand dominance.

Past Performance

Before their journey for the European tour, it was revealed that next year, in the non-existence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will meet the Springboks in a off-season matches dubbed 'a tour like no other'.

Historically the game's two strongest sides, there is clear agreement over who has recently got the better of what promoters have called 'The Ultimate Contest'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a two of World Cups, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the British and Irish Lions to be considered as the team of their period.

The All Blacks have persisted to defeat the Irish team when it counts most, beating Saturday's opponents in the global competition of recent years. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just two of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have beaten the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have always been victorious by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

But the decline of their status as the sport's measure of excellence will persist as an irritation.

Although the All Blacks excelled through the 2010s - achieving 87% of their international games, as well as claiming the World Cup on several instances - the World Cup of 2019 can now be seen as when the balance of power shifted in the international rugby.

New Zealand beat the Springboks in their first game of the championship in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were eventually successful in Yokohama.

Since then, the New Zealand's success rate has declined to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves lost ten of their next 26 Test matches but, commencing of 2023, have achieved victory at a rate (83%) to match even the former Kiwi champions.

Direct Competition

Throughout the same period, the South African team have won the majority of the recent encounters between the sides, comprising triumph in the recent championship match.

While securing their latest regional title, the Springboks inflicted a historic loss on the New Zealand team through 36 unanswered second-half points in the capital, a result which has triggered another series of discussion about the progress of the team under their leader.

Perhaps most jarring for followers of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' triumph has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their own side.

Playing Philosophy

At the time that the New Zealand team were at the peak of their capabilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team equipped of destroying competitors from all areas of the pitch and at any point of the match.

Today, their playing philosophy is unclear as Robertson, who has awarded 19 debuts during his recent tenure in control, tries to primarily create the fundamental foundations of a successful side.

It has already been confirmed that the backroom staff member overseeing offense, their offensive coordinator, will leave his role after the fall series, making him the additional person of management team to depart after another coach departed last year after just a handful of games.

Performance Gap

It was not merely Robertson's success, but his methodology, that was anticipated to transfer from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the 2023 World Cup but, to date, both remain a ongoing development.

Organizational Strategy

Following investment group the company invested capital in All Blacks in 2022, the following communication spoke of the "quest of international expansion" for the brand.

That task has perhaps been harder by the absence of a international celebrity. Ardie Savea and the group of Barrett brothers are still household names in the sport, but the spread of key individuals has become more diverse. Savea is the only All Black to receive global recognition in the recent years, in comparison to 10 in over a decade between the mid-2000s.

Global Expansion

Instead, initiatives have been undertaken to establish the New Zealand team into new territories.

The opening phase of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but the American city, a revisit to the stadium where the Irish team secured a historic win in the contest nine years ago.

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