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Seeking what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their storied history, the All Blacks have headed north at an interesting juncture.

Games against the Irish team, the Scottish side, the English squad and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the possibility to equal the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the games will be used as a measure to measure the progress of the team under a manager now well established from beginning his tenure.

Team Issues

Questions over a shortage of an distinctive approach, enduring debates over player choices and departures from the management team have all added to the sense that the most famous squad in the sport is now one in a time of change.

Most importantly, it is the drop in outcomes from a historic high watermark set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to speculate that we have evolved beyond of the age of Kiwi superiority.

Past Performance

Prior to their journey for the fall series, it was confirmed that in the coming year, in the non-existence of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand will face South Africa in a warm-weather tour termed 'an unprecedented series'.

Traditionally the rugby's premier teams, there is little doubt over who has recently got the better of what promoters have called 'The Ultimate Contest'.

During the last decade, the Springboks have won a pair of World Cups, three Rugby Championships and a tour against the British and Irish Lions to be viewed as the side of their era.

New Zealand have continued to defeat Ireland when it matters most, beating this weekend's rivals in the tournament knockout stages of recent years. They have, at the same time, been defeated in just two of the past 21 meetings with England, have defeated Wales in every encounter since 1963 and have never suffered defeat by the Scottish team.

Changing Dynamics

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

Although the New Zealand team dominated through the previous decade - securing 87% of their fixtures, as well as lifting the World Cup on several instances - the global tournament of 2019 can now be regarded as when the balance of power shifted in the world sport.

New Zealand overcame the Springboks in their opening match of the competition in the host nation, but it was the Boks' who were eventually successful in the championship match.

From that point, the All Blacks' victory ratio has dropped to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves lost ten of their following games but, from the beginning of last year, have won at a frequency (eighty-three percent) to rival even the last great New Zealand team.

Direct Competition

Over the same period, the Springboks have secured victory in the majority of the past fixtures between the teams, comprising triumph in the latest global tournament decider.

While securing their current continental championship, the Springboks inflicted a historic loss on the New Zealand team through 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a score which has sparked another wave of discussion about the progress of the team under their leader.

Maybe most troubling for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, alongside their characteristic physicality, the Springboks' triumph has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their opposition team.

Style Evolution

When the All Blacks were at the zenith of their abilities a decade past, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit able of destroying rivals from all areas of the pitch and at all times of the contest.

Now, their attacking style is less defined as their leader, who has handed out 19 debuts during his recent tenure in control, tries to first establish the fundamental core elements of a competitive squad.

It has already been confirmed that the assistant coach responsible for attack, the current coach, will leave his role after the upcoming matches, becoming the additional person of the coaching staff to leave after Leon MacDonald departed last year after just limited matches.

Team Development

It was not merely previous achievements, but his methodology, that was predicted to transfer from Crusaders when he began his tenure after the recent tournament but, to date, each are still a work in progress.

Commercial Considerations

Following investment group investors acquired shares in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the ensuing statement spoke of the "pursuit of new global opportunities" for the organization.

That objective has perhaps been more challenging by the lack of a crossover star. The current captain and the collection of Barrett brothers remain well-known figures in the sport, but the distribution of talented players has become more diverse. The captain is the sole All Black to earn global recognition in the past six seasons, in opposition to ten awards in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s.

Global Expansion

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

The first leg of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to the Irish capital but the American city, a comeback to the location where the Irish team secured a first ever victory in the fixture nine years ago.

Following the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also