Representing the Lions is often described as the pinnacle of a player’s career or to take the words of 1997 coach Jim Telfer, rugby’s Everest.
Halfpenny would be thrilled to secure a place on a second tour but he reckons pulling on the Three Feathers is on a level par.
“Playing for Wales is just incredible – it’s everything about you, your family, friends. You are representing that,” Halfpenny told the Daily Express.
“Playing for the Lions is the pinnacle of your international career but playing for Wales – it makes me just as proud pulling on that jersey.
“It is the greatest honour, equal with the Lions.”
Halfpenny is seen as a shoo-in for Warren Gatland’s squad, which is announced on Tuesday, following a sensational season.
The Cardiff Blues star has established himself as one of the world’s finest full-backs and deadliest goal-kickers.
He was one of Wales’ most consistent players in the successful defence of the RBS 6 Nations title and was subsequently named 2013 Player of the Championship.
And having been part of the Wales side that turned around an eight-match losing streak to defend their Championship crown he certainly has the mental toughness to prosper Down Under.
“We weren’t playing badly, we just weren’t getting the results,” said Halfpenny.
“We’d had a bad run of games. We felt we hadn’t played too badly on the summer tour in Australia, we felt we could have won two out of the three Tests and the games against Argentina and Samoa in the autumn.
“But we didn’t achieve what we set out to achieve or what we expected of ourselves.
“The second half against Ireland was encouraging but we had chances we didn’t take and we could have won it if we had.
“But after that, the character we showed to bounce back, to go to France and get the win in the style we did, was a massive achievement.
“We needed that win to give us the confidence to go out and play. It was a huge boost – there were smiles on faces, we were enjoying it again.
“We had difficult conditions in Italy, pounding down with rain, but we changed and played to the conditions with the kicking game, not too high-risk. The same against Scotland.
“And then against England, those were the conditions we had been waiting for – dry pitch, no wind – and it all came together. What a day that was, an incredible day to be involved in.”
