Can the New Zealand rugby team find their spark in the upcoming matches?

Pursuing what would be just a fifth northern hemisphere clean sweep in their illustrious legacy, the All Blacks have traveled to Europe at an interesting juncture.

Fixtures against the Irish team, Scotland, England and Wales await Scott Robertson's side across the next four weekends but, beyond the chance to join the teams of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the annals of rugby, the matches will be used as a yardstick to measure the progress of the team under a leader now two years on from beginning his tenure.

Present Difficulties

Questions over a absence of an identifiable style, ongoing discussions over selection and exits from the management team have all contributed to the sense that the most recognisable team in the game is now one in a time of change.

Most significantly, it is the decline in outcomes from a past excellence set between the global tournaments of 2011 and 2019 that has caused some to theorize that we have transitioned away of the era of Kiwi superiority.

Past Performance

Ahead of their journey for the European tour, it was confirmed that during the following season, in the non-existence of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand will play South Africa in a summer series dubbed 'a tour like no other'.

In the past the rugby's premier teams, there is no question over who has recently got the better of what organizers have labeled 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

Over the past seven years, the South African team have claimed a couple of global tournaments, three southern hemisphere titles and a series against the home nations team to be viewed as the squad of their generation.

The All Blacks have maintained to beat Ireland when it counts most, overcoming Saturday's opponents in the World Cup quarter finals of recent years. They have, meanwhile, lost just a couple of the past 21 meetings with the English team, have defeated the Welsh side in every encounter since 1963 and have always been victorious by Scotland.

Shifting Balance

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

Although the New Zealand team reigned supreme through the previous decade - winning eighty-seven percent of their international games, as well as lifting the global trophy on several instances - the global tournament of the previous competition can now be seen as when the hierarchical structure moved in the international rugby.

New Zealand beat the Springboks in their initial fixture of the championship in Japan, but it was the South Africans who were ultimately triumphant in the final.

From that point, the All Blacks' winning percentage has fallen to 71%. The Springboks themselves were defeated in 10 of their subsequent fixtures but, from the beginning of last year, have achieved victory at a frequency (83%) to match even the previous All Blacks side.

Recent Encounters

Over the comparable duration, the South African team have secured victory in five of the recent encounters between the sides, including triumph in the latest global tournament decider.

In claiming their most recent continental championship, Rassie Erasmus' side inflicted a significant beating on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in the capital, a score which has ignited another round of debate about the progress of the squad under Robertson.

Possibly most concerning for supporters of the New Zealand team will be that, combined with their usual power, South Africa's achievement has come with an creative approach more commonly connected with their own side.

Playing Philosophy

At the time that the New Zealand team were at the height of their abilities in previous eras, they were a clinical transition team equipped of dismantling opponents from any part of the field and at any moment of the match.

Now, their offensive approach is less defined as Robertson, who has given 19 debuts during his two years in control, tries to primarily create the more prosaic core elements of a winning team.

It has previously announced that the assistant coach responsible for offense, the current coach, will exit the team after the fall series, becoming the second member of the coaching staff to depart after Leon MacDonald left last year after just a handful of games.

Expectations vs Reality

It was not only Robertson's success, but his style, that was anticipated to translate from Crusaders when he took over after the global competition but, as yet, the two aspects continue to be a work in progress.

Commercial Considerations

After financial organization investors bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in recent years, the following communication discussed the "search of international expansion" for the team.

That task has possibly been more challenging by the absence of a international celebrity. Their key player and the group of related players remain well-known figures in the rugby, but the concentration of talented players has expanded significantly. Their leader is the single New Zealand player to win international honors in the current era, in comparison to ten awards in over a decade between the mid-2000s.

Global Expansion

Alternatively, initiatives have been implemented to transplant the New Zealand team into new territories.

The opening phase of this northern hemisphere series brings New Zealand not to Dublin but the American city, a comeback to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team obtained a landmark success in the contest during past tours.

After the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Zealand team have also