Adam Ashley-Cooper is being closely watched by Lyon © Getty Images

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Success in Super Rugby may have increased the stocks of Australian players on the overseas club market, but they are still not the preferred first point of call.

Cashed-up French clubs are reportedly making plays for Wallabies stars such as injured scrum-half Will Genia and fullback Israel Folau, but other southern-hemisphere nations remain more popular destinations for bolstering playing stocks, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to former Wallabies backs coach Tim Lane, who manages Lyon, which has been promoted to France's first division Top 14 competition, French clubs still prefer New Zealand and South African talent.

''I wouldn't say everyone is talking about Australian players,'' Lane told the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday. ''The All Blacks and Springboks are more popular over here in France.''

Lane admitted that Lyon has joined the race to sign Genia after next year's World Cup in England - alongside English club Bath and a host of other French clubs. He also revealed Lyon has Wallabies outside centre Adam Ashley-Cooper in their sights, although they have yet to make contact with the player's representatives.

''We would love to have guys of Will and Ashley-Cooper's standard,'' Lane told the Sydney Morning Herald. ''We have recruited 16 new players this year. We had to do it to be competitive, and next year we will probably be in the market for eight, maybe nine [players] - pending how guys go this year. We could be in the market for eight or nine if we stay up and want to keep progressing. And their positions are something we would be looking at.''

Lane said Lyon was only interested in the top marquee names in Australia, such as Israel Folau, Genia, Ashley-Cooper and the injured Quade Cooper and conceded that, for Lyon, Folau is ''probably out of our market'' and ''can command big money''.

"The French federation are limiting the number of foreign players per team," Lane said. "Because we have been promoted, we can have 17 foreigners, where the other teams have 16 - while over the next two to three years those numbers [will] diminish.

"So you have to be pretty spot on with your foreigners. Most teams will only sign current or ex-internationals. 'Obviously you are going to look at the All Blacks. You are going to look at the Springboks. You are going to look at the Wallabies - and Argentineans probably for the scrum. English players and Welsh players are more in vogue. ''So I wouldn't say everyone is saying, 'Sh** … let's go and sign Wallabies.'''