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Aiming for what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have embarked on their tour at an interesting juncture.

Matches against the Irish team, the Scottish side, England and the Welsh team await Scott Robertson's side across the upcoming weeks but, in addition to the possibility to join the teams of previous successful tours in the record books, the matches will be used as a yardstick to assess the development of the team under a manager now 24 months into from taking up the reins.

Present Difficulties

Questions over a lack of an identifiable style, ongoing discussions over team picks and departures from the coaching ticket have all added to the perception that the best-known side in the game is currently one in a state of flux.

Most importantly, it is the dip in results from a past excellence set between the World Cups of 2011 and 2019 that has prompted some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the era of New Zealand dominance.

Recent History

Ahead of their travel for the European tour, it was revealed that in the coming year, in the absence of the southern hemisphere competition, the All Blacks will play South Africa in a summer series termed 'an unprecedented series'.

Historically the sport's top competitors, there is little doubt over who has currently outperformed of what marketers have called 'The Premier Rivalry'.

During the last decade, the South African team have won a two of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a competition against the northern hemisphere selection to be regarded as the side of their period.

The All Blacks have persisted to defeat Ireland when it matters most, defeating their next challengers in the tournament knockout stages of 2019 and '23. They have, meanwhile, been defeated in just a pair of the recent encounters with the English team, have defeated Wales in all matches since over sixty years ago and have always been victorious by the Scottish team.

Shifting Balance

But the loss of their status as the rugby's benchmark will continue to rankle.

While the All Blacks excelled through the previous decade - achieving 87% of their international games, as well as claiming the global trophy on two occasions - the global tournament of 2019 can now be seen as when the competitive landscape moved in the world sport.

New Zealand defeated South Africa in their opening match of the championship in Japan, but it was the Boks' who were ultimately triumphant in Yokohama.

Since then, the All Blacks' victory ratio has declined to 71%. South Africa themselves were defeated in ten of their following games but, since the start of last year, have achieved victory at a rate (83%) to rival even the previous All Blacks side.

Recent Encounters

During the comparable duration, the 'Boks have won the majority of the recent encounters between the teams, comprising victory in the recent championship match.

While securing their most recent regional title, the Springboks inflicted a significant beating on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in Wellington, a score which has triggered another series of controversy regarding the direction of the team under Robertson.

Maybe most troubling for fans of the All Blacks will be that, alongside their usual power, the Springboks' achievement has come with an creative approach more usually associated with their own side.

Team Identity

At the time that the New Zealand team were at the height of their powers in previous eras, they were a devastating offensive machine capable of shredding opponents from any part of the field and at any point of the contest.

Now, their attacking style is more ambiguous as the coach, who has handed out 19 debuts during his two years in command, tries to first establish the basic building blocks of a competitive squad.

It has recently revealed that the assistant coach overseeing scoring, Jason Holland, will leave his role after the fall series, becoming the additional person of Robertson's ticket to exit after another coach departed last year after just limited matches.

Performance Gap

It was not merely his winning record, but his approach, that was expected to translate from his former team when he took over after the global competition but, so far, each are still a work in progress.

Organizational Strategy

Following financial organization Silver Lake acquired shares in All Blacks in recent years, the subsequent announcement mentioned the "quest of worldwide growth" for the organization.

That task has possibly been more challenging by the lack of a crossover star. The current captain and the group of related players continue to be well-known figures in the game, but the spread of key individuals has expanded significantly. The captain is the sole All Black to earn global recognition in the past six seasons, in comparison to ten awards in over a decade between previous generations.

Global Expansion

Rather, initiatives have been made to introduce the New Zealand team into new territories.

The first leg of this European campaign brings the All Blacks not to Dublin but Chicago, a revisit to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland secured a first ever victory in the fixture in previous seasons.

Following the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have additionally