Australia coach Robbie Deans admits there is still ample time for Mark Gasnier to force his way into his World Cup squad.

Gasnier, who is currently in his second season with French Top 14 club Stade Francais having switched codes at the end of 2008, comes off contract at the end of June.

The 28-year-old has been linked with moves to the Brumbies, Reds and the new Melbourne Rebels franchise in recent weeks, fuelling speculation the veteran of nine State of Origin and 15 rugby league Tests has his sights set on the Rugby World Cup next September.

And while the ARU has confirmed it has no interest in luring Kangaroos half-back Johnathan Thurston over to the 15-man game, a coy Deans left the door ajar for Gasnier on Tuesday.

"Absolutely," Deans said when asked if Gasnier could potentially force his way into World Cup calculations on the back of just one Super rugby season.

"Anyone who plays and plays well has got a good chance."

"I haven't seen a lot (of him play), I watched him play when we were in the UK in 2008 but obviously we've got a lot of that footage.

"So if he was to come back and commit to rugby union domestically then we'd have the opportunity proactively to look back at a lot of his recent rugby, but then obviously more importantly we'd have the opportunity to watch him play the game in this competition, and that'd be a great indicator."

Deans declared 2009 a success for the national side despite a disappointing Tri Nations campaign that included just one victory.

"Put it this way, we got a lot out of 09," he said.

"It was a good program which included some midweek features, and they were a big part of the way the year ended (with an emphatic victory over Wales), and we believe we got some growth.

"Our last week of rugby (for the season) was great and if we can enter next year at that point then we'll be looking good."

The former Crusaders mentor also remains confident at least one of the four Australian provinces will feature in the semi-finals of the Super 14 competition in May.

No Australian side is currently in the top four, with the Reds leading the way in fifth spot ahead of the Brumbies and Waratahs in seventh and 10th respectively, while the injury depleted Force are at the back of the pack.

"Obviously both of those nations (South Africa and New Zealand) are probably like (to have teams) there at the business end," Deans said when asked for his thoughts after two rounds of the tournament.

"Our challenge is to rise to that challenge, and I see no reason why we can't have teams represented at that end.

"The most obvious in terms of their player pool are the Waratahs and the Brumbies, in terms of depth of player resource and experience, and the Reds showed (what they can do) last weekend in their performance against the Crusaders."