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Seeking what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their legendary past, the New Zealand side have headed north at an crucial period.

Fixtures against Ireland, the Scottish side, the English squad and Wales await the All Blacks across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the chance to match the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the history books, the games will be used as a benchmark to measure the progress of the squad under a leader now 24 months into from beginning his tenure.

Present Difficulties

Concerns over a lack of an clear playing identity, enduring debates over player choices and exits from the backroom staff have all contributed to the perception that the most recognisable team in the game is presently one in a state of flux.

Most pertinently, it is the decline in performances from a historic high watermark set between the World Cups of the last decade that has led some to speculate that we have evolved beyond of the age of Kiwi superiority.

Past Performance

Prior to their journey for the European tour, it was announced that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, New Zealand will face the Springboks in a warm-weather tour called 'a tour like no other'.

In the past the sport's top competitors, there is clear agreement over who has recently got the better of what marketers have described 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

During the last decade, the South African team have secured 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 maintained to beat the Irish team when it matters most, beating their next challengers in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, at the same time, lost just two of the last fixtures with England, have beaten the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have remained unbeaten by Scotland.

Changing Dynamics

But the diminishment of their status as the game's gold standard will remain frustrating.

Although the All Blacks excelled through the previous decade - achieving 87% of their Test matches, as well as claiming the World Cup on multiple times - the World Cup of 2019 can now be viewed as when the competitive landscape moved in the international rugby.

New Zealand overcame South Africa in their first game of the tournament in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were eventually successful in Yokohama.

From that point, the New Zealand's winning percentage has declined to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, from the beginning of 2023, have won at a rate (83%) to compete with even the former Kiwi champions.

Recent Encounters

Over the same period, the South African team have won the majority of the past fixtures between the teams, comprising triumph in the 2023 World Cup final.

While securing their latest continental championship, Rassie Erasmus' side inflicted a significant beating on the All Blacks courtesy of dominant performance in the capital, a result which has ignited another round of controversy concerning the development of the side under the coach.

Perhaps most concerning for fans of the New Zealand team will be that, allied to their traditional strength, South Africa's success has come with an offensive flair more typically linked with their opposition team.

Team Identity

When the All Blacks were at the height of their powers 10 years ago, they were a devastating offensive machine equipped of destroying competitors from all areas of the pitch and at any moment of the match.

Currently, their playing philosophy is more ambiguous as their leader, who has handed out 19 debuts during his 24 months in command, tries to primarily create the more prosaic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has recently revealed that the backroom staff member overseeing scoring, Jason Holland, will depart his position after the upcoming matches, becoming the next individual of Robertson's ticket to leave after previous staff member left last year after just limited matches.

Performance Gap

It was not only Robertson's success, but his approach, that was predicted to transfer from Crusaders when he took over after the recent tournament but, as yet, both continue to be a ongoing development.

Commercial Considerations

After private equity firm Silver Lake bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the ensuing statement discussed the "pursuit of worldwide growth" for the organization.

That goal has perhaps been more difficult by the lack of a international celebrity. Ardie Savea and the collection of family members remain household names in the rugby, but the concentration of key individuals has become more diverse. The captain is the single New Zealand player to receive global recognition in the recent years, in comparison to ten awards in over a decade between previous generations.

International Growth

Rather, initiatives have been made to introduce the All Blacks into emerging regions.

The first leg of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to the Irish capital but Chicago, a return to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland secured a first ever victory in the match during past tours.

Since the reduction of pandemic limitations, the New Zealand team have furthermore