Besieged Wallabies mentor Robbie Deans remains the best coach in the world and shouldn't be judged on his dreadful trans-Tasman record, according to Australian-based All Blacks great Grant Batty.

Batty, renowned as one of New Zealand's toughest wingers, said the Australian Rugby Union would be "foolish" to axe Deans before the 2011 World Cup as there was no legitimate alternative.

The former Crusaders super-coach is under growing pressure after he led Australia to their eighth straight Bledisloe Cup loss to NZ in Melbourne on Saturday night.

ARU boss John O'Neill has said Deans was safe until the end of his four-year contract but at the same time brought his position into question by underlining the importance of beating the All Blacks.

But Batty said it was unfair to blame the coach for the Wallabies poor record against their powerful arch-rivals, especially considering the current injury situation.

The Wallabies have been missing close to half of their best 15 all season and will again meet the All Blacks without eight first-choice players this Saturday in Deans' home town on Christchurch.

Powerful forwards James Horwill, Wycliff Palu, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Ben Alexander are all out for the year as well as tackle-shedding winger Digby Ioane and rising centre Rob Horne.

"Part of the problem is the personnel," Batty told AAP on Monday. "I think they're playing as good as they can with the people that's available.

"It's unfortunate Deans has got the injuries he has ... and it just so happens the All Blacks are red hot

"The accuracy of their performances in the first three (Tri-Nations) Tests have been sensational.

"If you line the two teams up at the moment Australia comes out on top in three, maybe four positions."

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie, who led the Reds 2010 revival, and ARU high-performance manager David Nucifora are the two men viewed as strong contenders for the job.

But Batty, a former Reds assistant coach and Australian U19 mentor, said there was no point in sacking Deans because there were "simply no other alternatives".

"He (Deans) is the best coach in world rugby," he said. "You don't do what he did for the Crusaders without being very smart about the game.

"What annoys me is you don't have a legitimate contender.

"Ewen has done very well but Queensland snuck under the radar against a lot of teams and next year will be the litmus test.

"If he can do that again next year then I'd be happy to see him appointed."

Deans, who flew into his home town on Monday night, will be aiming to avoid equalling Australia's worst-ever losing streak of nine against NZ on Saturday.

All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan is set to miss the clash through a rib injury, opening the door for Piri Weepu to start and Alby Mathewson to be selected on the bench.

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