"It's fair to say that on last year's tour there was a massive difference between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere teams," Smith said.
"But there are other factors around that as well. A lack of game time for our ladies before they left, I think they got taken by surprise a wee bit. That won't happen this time. Whether that closes the gap or not is up to us."
While there is plenty of interest in whether the Black Ferns have bridged that gap, there are also questions as to how the northern hemisphere teams manage against the Black Ferns' new high-tempo, aggressive, attack-driven style of play that has seen them score 50 points or more in three of their six tests this year.
Since Smith took over coaching duties in April, alongside Wes Clarke and Whitney Hansen, and getting input from the likes of Mike Cron, Sir Graham Henry and Allan Bunting, their brand of rugby has changed.
"You can be certain they're looking at us; coming up with plans just as we're coming up with plans to play them," Smith said.
"There is a different style, and a big part of the game is how you neutralise them and how you impose yourself on them. That's what the contest is. You can't prophecise what that's going to look like too much. We've got to see what happens during the tournament.
"We do look at the other teams pretty closely, and every team's got Achilles heels. It's a matter of working out what they are and strengthening ours. In my experience, going through a tournament like this, you've just got to keep improving. It's an ongoing process."
Smith has stressed the importance of understanding how the game will be officiated as part of that process, as that has been an area of concern for the side all season.
Across their last three tests, the Ferns have given away 38 penalties – reaching double-digits in every test. In their most recent outing against Japan, a 95-12 win, they gave away eight more penalties than they received.
It's a trend that can't continue if the Ferns are to have their best possible chance of defending their title on home soil.
"It's an issue," Smith admitted. "We're pretty clear about how the referees are going to referee the game, where some of the problem areas are – getting within 10m of a lineout before the lineout's over, understanding when a lineout's over; when the ball's off the top or when you've driven passed the middle line - so we're pushing all that stuff all the time.
"Generally, there's a lack of knowledge through the game about that, also in the men's game. We're pretty clear about what we've got to do, of course, then you've got to go out there and do it."
