Australian Rugby Union chairman Michael Hawker has made a passionate defence of the Wallabies' season ahead of a make-or-break year for Robbie Deans.

Deans may struggle to push on beyond his contract which finishes in 2013 following a season in which the Wallabies dropped from second to third in the world rankings and played a brand of rugby which delivered just 15 tries in 15 games.

Hawker admitted 2013 shaped as a significant year for Deans and the Wallabies, with the three-Test British and Irish Lions' Australian tour the biggest indicator of success in the coming 12  months.

''I think for coaches every year is make or break,'' Hawker said .

''That's the nature of coaching. I don't think Robbie takes anything for granted.

''For us, I think everyone in the Australian public is pretty keen to win all the games.

''So is Robbie, and he'll do the best he can to do that. In the board's view we've got every chance of defeating the Lions next year.''... Next year is a huge year. (The Lions tour) always creates a huge wave of anticipation in this country, seeing the best of the northern hemisphere come here.

''We're pretty keen to try and thump them.

''Despite the Wallabies' dour playing style it hasn't hampered participation rates across the country, with the ARU announcing on Tuesday a fourth consecutive year of growth - with player numbers  totalling 323,115 in 2012.

Hawker said it was unfair to criticise the Wallabies simply on  their record of nine wins, five losses and a draw - pointing to the  unprecedented number of injuries which rocked the national team  this year.

Playmakers Will Genia, Quade Cooper, James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale all missed significant portions of 2012, as did skipper James  Horwill and world-class flanker David Pocock.

''From the Australian Rugby Union we're happy with where the Australian team is. We'd like to have less injuries and I think if didn't have as many injuries we'd have been right up the top,'' Hawker said.''... You've got to put the Wallabies performance in context with how many injuries we've had.

''We've had 55 people play for the Wallabies this year which is a pretty broad number of players and so we've had an unusual level of injury rate.

"You look at some of the international teams (and) if you  took Carter and Richie McCaw out in New Zealand you have a  different proposition.

''So severe was the injury crisis Hawker revealed it had prompted an internal investigation, the result of which was a new process to handle injured players.

''We've actually just approved a better player management process  between the Australian Rugby Union and the Super Rugby franchises  to make sure that a player's welfare is managed right collectively  across those two levels of the game,'' he said.

WHITE NOT KEEN TO OUST DEANS

Brumbies coach Jake White says he has no ambitions to either take the Wallabies coaching role from Deans or leapfrog any queue for the role.

White was last week quoted as saying it would be a ''dream job'' to coach the Wallabies.

However the Springboks' 2007 World Cup winning coach set the record straight with reporters, saying he didn't want to oust Deans and making it plain he wasn't trying to push himself  ahead of heir apparent Ewen McKenzie.

''To be fair it was a bit of a difficult (question) to put to me  because I coach a franchise in Australia where all players are  basically eligible to play for their country,'' said South African White.

''But I have no ambitions of taking Robbie Deans' job or jumping in front of the queue in front of everybody.

''I have a job to do (with the Brumbies) and if that means that you get earmarked for greater things then that is fantastic.''

White is entering his second season with the Brumbies, having turned them around to go within a whisker of the finals last season.

The man with runs on the board in Australia is Queensland Reds director of coaching McKenzie, who led the franchise to the Super Rugby title in 2011 and previously took the NSW Waratahs to two finals.

However White said as a fellow coach of an Australian rugby franchise it would be wrong for him not to show interest in coaching the Wallabies.

''If I coach in a country like (Australia) you've got to buy into the fact that you're in this country and you're doing it hammer and tongs.

"So it would be a great honour,'' he said.''Any guy who is in coaching who says he wouldn't want to coach one of the best sides in the world is dreaming.''So it is obviously something like that I would look at, but at  this point in time I'm with the Brumbies and my job is to make sure  I produce Wallabies.''

- AAP

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