For so long the Wallabies have searched for answers designed to close the gulf.
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For so long Australian rugby players and coaches have sought a way to respond to the challenge laid down by the world's premier rugby team, only to come up short.
They are certainly not alone - the New Zealand All Blacks have a plethora of extraordinary talent at their fingertips. Their record in recent years is one surpassed by few sporting teams around the globe.
And with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon, there are very few reasons to be overly optimistic about that changing.
If someone is to challenge the All Blacks in Japan, I would be stunned if it was a Wallabies side so often playing catch-up.
Why else would Rugby Australia decide to follow the leader and implement a rotation policy for the nation's Super Rugby teams? New Zealand did it, and it seemed to work for them.
But there is a reason the All Blacks - the same side responsible for breaking Australian hearts for the best part of two decades - have won the past two Rugby World Cups.
There is a reason the Wallabies have failed to win the Bledisloe Cup since 2002.
In fact there are plenty - but one of them is not Australian players featuring in too many Super Rugby games per season.
Rugby Australia's workload management policy declares Australia's top Test players are expected to stand down for two Super Rugby games per season.
It has made it almost impossible for Super Rugby coaches to find any consistency, with their hands ultimately forced into rotating players.
Look no further than the ACT Brumbies for proof.
Not once has Brumbies coach Dan McKellar managed to select the same starting XV in consecutive weeks this season.
Some of that has been injury-induced, but some of it also comes down to having to rest players for key games.
It is a vexed issue. There is perhaps a time and place to rest your big-name players, and striking that balance is absolutely crucial to the success of the experiment. But with a record of 3-5, a team can hardly afford to have fit stars on the sideline.
The likes of David Pocock, Allan Alaalatoa, Scott Sio, Folau Faingaa and Rory Arnold have been forced out of Super Rugby games this season due to the Rugby Australia-driven move to rest Wallabies players.
To say their absence has been a cruel blow for a Brumbies outfit running without any luck would be a major understatement. Their season is hanging by a thread as they embark on a round the world trip to resurrect their slim finals hopes.
Pocock will miss the Brumbies' crucial clash with the Cape Town Stormers at Newlands Stadium on Saturday, but not because of a resting policy.
The world class breakaway has already served his rotations - instead, he will be missing due to the calf injury which has crippled what could be his final campaign with the Brumbies.
Pocock picked up a soft tissue injury - as did three other key players - during a Wallabies fitness camp in Sydney in January this year.
How did he do it, you ask? By being run into the ground.
Wallabies squad members opened a nine-day camp with a time trial. If some fell below expectations, the rest were made to pay in the form of sprints.
That is when disaster struck. Not just for Pocock, but for Adam Coleman, Dane Haylett-Petty and Nick Phipps as well.
For the Brumbies star, it was the dreaded old man's injury, one that has plagued him in the ensuing months and threatens to have a major impact on Australia's chances of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup.
Pocock has since strung together just one full game this season leading into round 10 of the Super Rugby competition. It is hardly looming as a farewell fitting for one of the premier players on the planet.
The 30-year-old is slated to make his return against the Argentina Jaguares next week, but just how much game time he can get under his belt before the Super Rugby season wraps up is anyone's guess.
Everybody is keen to play their part in helping Australia to prepare for their looming World Cup campaign, but the new era of collaboration has clearly brought with it a range of issues.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has defended the policy he believes is designed to benefit the national side's fitness levels on the road to the World Cup.
But if you want to build a team fit to play, don't you want them to do just that and actually play? There is simply no substitute for match fitness.
The policy was agreed on by all four Australian Super Rugby clubs and Wallabies coaches, but it has been a sore point for teams and fans across the board.
Coaches have been forced to strategically select the games in which they rest their high-profile stars in a move that has raised questions about the integrity of the competition.
Die hards aside, some fans might not think it's worth shelling out their hard-earned to go to watch a Super Rugby game when key players are missing. Rugby Australia could use all the support it can get after what has been nothing short of a tumultuous few years.
So why do it in the first place? Because New Zealand have tasted success with the same strategy?
Again, the reason the Wallabies keep coming up short against the All Black juggernaut is not because Australian players are playing too many games.
Nor is it because New Zealand Rugby officials are resting their players. The All Blacks are simply blessed with a luxury of depth Australian rugby is not privy to.
New Zealand's dominance is not killing rugby in Australia. It is on those wearing jerseys, ties and polo shirts bearing a wallaby and the southern cross to find a way to revitalise the nation's prospects on the world stage.
The Wallabies must find their own formula for success to close the gap, because playing catch-up is simply not working.
For every step the Wallabies take, the All Blacks will be one ahead.