Is it an excuse for why Ireland and France won against SA because the poor dears were ‘weary’? I seem to recall that if NH teams say the same thing when they play down south, they get pilloried for offering up poor excuses.

I don’t disagree with the basic point that NH teams should be winning more regularly on tours down South. I think Mallet’s assessment that currently NH teams are losing every Test by at least 20-30 points is inaccurate and probably more reflects Italy’s results in recent years.

He spoke in generalisms about the NH teams. In any commentary that I’ve seen – North and South – either France are noted as an exception cos they beat the Boks at home and the ABs away or else Ireland for remaining undefeated for 2009, drawing with Australia as a rusty side, and defeating the Boks (weary or not).

At times, it seems, that you cannot win, no matter the results. There’s always reasons and opinions as to why people think otherwise.

But I’ll be the first to say that Ireland’s next big task outside of competing well in the 6 Nations (and ideally winning it) is to tour next June and win one of the two games against Australia and win against New Zealand. That should be their objective, and I think Kidney and his players will want to achieve that, as opposed to starting thinking about the beach after the league and cup is over in May. They’ve also arranged four matches for next Autumn (to include the stadium opener for Landsdowne against SA) and that fits with the programme of development and winning pattern they have to accomplish. If they lose any of those games, they may as well not travel to the World Cup. And I think other NH teams should do likewise. Why celebrate a competition of mediocrity or one-sided supremacy between the SANZAR teams?

In an interview on the rbs6nations website, Mallett described the Six Nations’ teams performances in the year-end Tests as “disappointing”.

It was pointed out that France and Ireland won against a “weary South Africa team”, while he was also dismissive of Scotland’s one-point win over Australia.

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.

“I think the gap between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere remains pretty wide,” Mallett said.

“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.”