Only France and Ireland recorded victories over a Tri Nations side this autumn – both against a weary South Africa team.

And Mallett, who is one of only a handful of coaches to have taken charge in both the Tri Nations and Six Nations, highlights the fact that France are the only Northern Hemisphere team to have won on southern soil in six years as a damning indictment of European rugby.

He said: “I think the gap between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere remains pretty wide.

“The day Northern Hemisphere teams stop going down South and losing every Test by at least 20-30 points and start winning on their own soil, is the day I will revise my opinion.

“If you look at the Tri Nations, the physicality is on a level that is way above the Northern Hemisphere.