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Aiming for what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their legendary past, the New Zealand side have traveled to Europe at an crucial period.

Matches against the Irish team, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await the All Blacks across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the possibility to equal the sides of previous successful tours in the annals of rugby, the matches will be used as a yardstick to evaluate the progress of the team under a head coach now well established from taking up the reins.

Current Challenges

Doubts over a lack of an identifiable style, enduring debates over player choices and departures from the coaching ticket have all contributed to the perception that the best-known side in the sport is currently one in a state of flux.

Most significantly, it is the drop in results from a previous peak set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has led some to speculate that we have moved out of the period of Kiwi superiority.

Recent History

Ahead of their departure for the northern hemisphere, it was announced that next year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will play the Springboks in a off-season matches dubbed 'an unprecedented series'.

Traditionally the rugby's premier teams, there is no question over who has lately dominated of what promoters have called 'The Premier Rivalry'.

During the last decade, the Springboks have claimed a couple of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the home nations team to be regarded as the side of their era.

New Zealand have persisted to beat Ireland when it is crucial, overcoming their next challengers in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, 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 never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.

Evolving Landscape

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

While the All Blacks dominated through the last ten years - winning eighty-seven percent of their Test matches, as well as winning the World Cup on multiple times - the World Cup of 2019 can now be regarded as when the competitive landscape shifted in the international rugby.

The All Blacks defeated South Africa in their opening match of the competition in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in the final.

After that event, the All Blacks' success rate has declined to 71%. The Springboks themselves lost 10 of their following games but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a percentage (83%) to rival even the previous All Blacks side.

Head-to-Head

Throughout the comparable duration, the Springboks have secured victory in five of the seven meetings between the teams, comprising success in the latest global tournament decider.

While securing their latest southern hemisphere crown, the Springboks administered a record 43-10 defeat on the All Blacks thanks to dominant performance in Wellington, a outcome which has sparked another round of discussion about the direction of the side under the coach.

Possibly most jarring for followers of the New Zealand team will be that, combined with their traditional strength, South Africa's achievement 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 peak of their powers a decade past, they were a clinical transition team able of destroying opponents from any part of the playing surface and at any moment of the game.

Today, their attacking style is less defined as the coach, who has awarded multiple new players during his 24 months in control, tries to first establish the more prosaic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has previously announced that the supporting manager responsible for scoring, their offensive coordinator, will exit the team after the autumn tour, making him the additional person of management team to exit after another coach walked away last year after just limited matches.

Team Development

It was not just previous achievements, but his style, that was expected to transfer from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the global competition but, as yet, the two aspects remain a work in progress.

Organizational Strategy

After investment group Silver Lake acquired shares in All Blacks in the past, the subsequent announcement discussed the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the team.

That task has possibly been harder by the shortage of a international celebrity. Their key player and the group of family members are still recognizable personalities in the sport, but the concentration of talented players has become more diverse. The captain is the single New Zealand player to receive World Player of the Year in the current era, in opposition to ten awards in over a decade between 2005 and '07.

Worldwide Reach

Rather, initiatives have been implemented to transplant the New Zealand team into emerging regions.

The opening phase of this northern hemisphere series brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but Chicago, a comeback to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland achieved a first ever victory in the contest nine years ago.

Since the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have also