Leigh Halfpenny has added further fuel to the fire surrounding Wales's 3-0 series whitewash in Australia by stating that the biggest rugby teams in the world are still failing to show the Welsh national team the level of respect they believe they deserve.

The full-back revealed that Wales, no doubt boosted by their Grand Slam win in this year's Six Nations, expected to beat Australia on home turf, but were undone by sloppy errors and a lack of team discipline.

According to Halfpenny, the likes of Australia and New Zealand do not "respect" the Welsh "100%". Until the current Welsh outfit join their teammates of summer 1969 and summer 1987 in winning one of their clashes in the southern hemisphere, this is unlikely to change, according to the full-back.

Halfpenny's comments have not gone down too well in certain sectors of the Welsh rugby crowd, with some fans believing that Australia were extremely fortunate to run out 3-0 series winners. With Australia forced to fight back late on from losing positions in order to win the second and third Test matches, things didn't exactly go to plan for the Aussies either in front of a demanding and vocal crowd.

However, with Wales never before beating New Zealand or South Africa on their own turf, clearly there is a gap which needs to be closed by the likes of Halfpenny, a man only speaking out in this fashion because of his passion and desire to see the Welsh respected the world over by rugby fans and players.

With Wales now gearing up for crucial autumn tests against Argentina, Samoa, New Zealand, and Australia at the Millennium Stadium, one thing is for sure: now is not a time for self-doubt or recriminations. Now is the time to bounce back in style.

To kill time between now and those autumn tests, why not check out the latest version of the popular paddy power app?