The tipping point of Scott Robertson's maiden Test season is fast approaching for the All Blacks.
Year one was never going to be easy. Navigating expectations following last year's World Cup final; the significant post tournament player departures and a sweeping coaching overhaul points to widespread change and challenges.
But at the halfway mark in the year, with seven Tests down and seven remaining, the stark reality of the gulf between Super Rugby and the Test scene is dawning on Robertson as he contemplates his teetering 4-3 record after a reality check tour to South Africa.
During his unprecedented seven straight title reign at the Crusaders Robertson never encountered comparable adversity he now confronts.
On every level, the All Blacks hotseat hits different.
"You only learn on the job. That's one thing I understand now," Robertson said of the unforgiving Test arena. "You can do all the coaching you want but until you get into position that's when you really learn."
As the All Blacks slip to four straight losses against the Springboks -- two of those last year under Ian Foster -- for the first time in 75 years, the balance of power tips firmly in favour of their great rivals and New Zealand's status among the game's elite is rightly questioned.
While clearly frustrated after watching his men blow leads in both defeats at Ellis Park and Cape Town, Robertson continues to largely project inherent relentless positivity to maintain his belief the All Blacks are not far away from clicking.
In some respects, evidence supports that assertion. In others, not so.
"We've been reflective, honest, but also looking at what we're doing well to keep the energy strong," Robertson said. "Belief is important with the fine margins that define these games."
It would be remiss not to acknowledge this Springboks team -- indeed this era under Rassie Erasmus -- is among their best in history.
Successive World Cup crowns and a British & Irish Lions series success speak to their quality, while their strength in depth that's steadily built throughout that eight-year period is unrivalled.
Robertson's All Blacks, in their last two weeks in South Africa, pushed the back-to-back world champions to the brink in their backyard. That's no mean feat.
The All Blacks can take heart from their forward pack fronting physically at the set piece and in the collisions against the Springboks. This aspect signals significant improvement from two squeaky wins over England in July -- and the split results against Argentina at home that followed.
Wallace Sititi's maiden start in the unfamiliar blindside role in the second Test in Cape Town headlines the emerging youth that should have been promoted before now, too.
Hurricanes centre Billy Proctor, following his impressive Test debut against Fiji in July, 21-year-old loose forward Peter Lakai who is not in the Rugby Championship squad and dynamic fullback Ruben Love are among those waiting to be unleashed.
That's about where the positives end, though.
Almost should never be good enough for the All Blacks.
Sure, Robertson is presiding over a testing transition period. But the failure to address the inability to score a point in the final quarter of the All Blacks last four Tests is deeply concerning.
"We're aware of it," Robertson said. "It's something we're addressing constantly in all these games, back to the England series, we've created so much and not finished, especially early in games to keep scoreboard pressure on and then late with the ability to win the Test in front of us."
The composition and use of the All Blacks bench remains a mystery, too, after they were twice overrun by the Boks bomb squad.
The All Blacks attack that mustered four tries at Ellis Park was then held tryless in Cape Town to shine a spotlight on assistant coach Leon MacDonald's abrupt and financially costly exit prior to this tour.
"We're playing some good footy," Robertson said. "We are one pass away many times from breaking them. The attacking shape, the care on defence, breakdowns, turnovers. No one has scored four tries against them in years. But we still didn't get over the final line."
As the trophy cabinet rapidly shifts from no vacancy to lone resident -- the All Blacks handed over the Freedom Cup to the Boks for the first time in 15 years and are no chance to retain the Rugby Championship they held since 2019 -- pressure mounts on Robertson.
Six of the All Blacks remaining assignments this year are away from home comforts - three against Ireland, England and France.
Before then the Bledisloe Cup assumes pride of prominence, with repeat Tests against the Wallabies in Sydney and Wellington looming from next week.
The Wallabies, amid a daunting rebuild for Joe Schmidt, are seemingly reeling after their record 40-point humbling from the Pumas in Argentina.
Such a result reinforces demands for the All Blacks to convincingly dispatch the Wallabies, retain the treasured Bledisloe and restore confidence before a daunting end to the year awaits.
The most challenging chapter of Robertson's coaching career is here.