🔗 Share this article Will the All Blacks find their magic this autumn? The All Blacks have won seventy-one percent of their matches during the 2020s Pursuing what would be just a fifth 'Grand Slam' in their illustrious legacy, the New Zealand side have embarked on their tour at an pivotal moment. Games against Ireland, the Scottish side, England and Wales await the New Zealand team across the upcoming weeks but, quite aside from the chance to equal the squads of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010 in the record books, the games will be used as a yardstick to measure the improvement of the squad under a head coach now 24 months into from assuming control. Team Issues Concerns over a absence of an identifiable style, enduring debates over team picks and departures from the backroom staff have all contributed to the sense that the most famous squad in the sport is currently one in a period of transition. Most significantly, it is the drop in outcomes from a past excellence set between the global tournaments of the last decade that has prompted some to suggest that we have moved out of the era of Kiwi superiority. Recent History Prior to their journey for the northern hemisphere, it was announced that during the following season, in the lack of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will face South Africa in a off-season matches called 'a tour like no other'. Traditionally the game's two strongest sides, there is no question over who has recently got the better of what promoters have described 'The Premier Rivalry'. Over the past seven years, the South African team have secured a couple of global tournaments, three Rugby Championships and a series against the British and Irish Lions to be viewed as the squad of their generation. New Zealand have continued to defeat the Irish team when it is crucial, overcoming this weekend's rivals in the global competition of 2019 and '23. They have, additionally, been defeated in just a pair of the last fixtures with England, have defeated the Welsh side in all matches since the sixties and have always been victorious by Scotland. Changing Dynamics But the decline of their standing as the rugby's benchmark will persist as an irritation. Whereas the All Blacks dominated through the 2010s - securing 87% of their fixtures, as well as lifting the global trophy on several instances - the World Cup of the previous competition can now be viewed as when the balance of power changed in the world sport. The All Blacks defeated South Africa in their first game of the tournament in the host nation, but it was the South Africans who were finally victorious in Yokohama. After that event, the New Zealand's winning percentage has fallen to seventy-one percent. The Springboks themselves lost ten of their following games but, commencing of last year, have won at a frequency (83%) to match even the previous All Blacks side. The New Zealand team will compete in four Tests against the Springboks in 2026 Direct Competition Throughout the same period, the Springboks have secured victory in the majority of the past fixtures between the opponents, featuring triumph in the recent championship match. While securing their current southern hemisphere crown, Rassie Erasmus' side inflicted a historic loss on the New Zealand team courtesy of 36 unanswered second-half points in their home ground, a result which has sparked another series of discussion about the development of the side under the coach. Maybe most concerning for fans of the All Blacks will be that, allied to their traditional strength, the Springboks' success has come with an offensive flair more typically linked with their own side. Style Evolution During the period when the New Zealand team were at the height of their capabilities 10 years ago, they were a ruthless counter-attacking unit capable of dismantling opponents from any part of the pitch and at any point of the match. Currently, their offensive approach is more ambiguous as their leader, who has awarded multiple new players during his 24 months in charge, tries to primarily create the more prosaic foundations of a competitive squad. It has previously announced that the backroom staff member in charge of attack, the current coach, will depart his position after the autumn tour, making him the second member of management team to leave after previous staff member departed last year after just limited matches. Team Development It was not just his winning record, but his methodology, that was anticipated to carry over from previous club when he took over after the global competition but, to date, both remain a ongoing development. The team leader was awarded international star in 2023 Organizational Strategy When investment group the company bought a stake in New Zealand rugby in the past, the subsequent announcement mentioned the "quest of worldwide growth" for the team. That objective has possibly been more difficult by the lack of a crossover star. Ardie Savea and the trio of family members remain well-known figures in the sport, but the spread of key individuals has never been spread wider. Their leader is the only New Zealand player to win global recognition in the current era, in comparison to 10 in multiple seasons between the mid-2000s. Global Expansion Instead, efforts have been made to establish the All Blacks into previously untapped markets. The opening phase of this 'Grand Slam' tour brings New Zealand not to Dublin but Chicago, a comeback to the Soldier Field venue where the Irish team secured a historic win in the contest during past tours. Following the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the All Blacks have also