Caretaker coach Rob Howley insists Wales should be aiming to garner more than just respect from sides like Australia – but believes his squad can take heart from their tour Down Under.
Reigning RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam champions Wales were defeated 20-19 in the third and final Test on Saturday having lost the previous two clashes 27-19 and 25-23.
Berrick Barnes, who kicked 15 points in total for the hosts, hit a last-gasp penalty to extend Wales’ winless run on Australian soil to 43 years and secured victory in Sydney.
However former scrum-half Howley, deputising as coach after of Warren Gatland’s heel injury, believes Wales can glean a lot from their Australian tour.
“I am immensely proud of this group of players and there are a lot of good ingredients that have come out of the last three weeks that should make them feel pretty proud of their efforts,” he said.
“There were moments in the match we could have controlled better. But those moments will come again in the Autumn Series and the Six Nations and, hopefully, we will have learned how to make the most of them.
“A lot of things happened in the last 10 minutes [of each Test] and it was a new experience for a lot of these young players, who hadn’t played in a three-Test series before. It has been a fantastic learning curve for us discovering how to get back up for games week in, week out.
“The respect we have had over here has been great, but this Welsh team is better than that. We want to win international games and the one thing you need to do when you gain respect is come to places like Australia and win.”