If the Rugby World Cup is a place where stars are born, then Ben Youngs believes the next few days could be the launchpad for Tom Curry to become 'one of the greatest back-rowers England have ever had'.

Together with double act Sam Underhill, Curry has turned England's back-row into a force to be reckoned with, outmuscling iconic Australian pair David Pocock and Michael Hooper last Saturday.

Now the youngsters, who grew up idolising Richie McCaw's breakdown play, are turning their attention to the All Blacks and Youngs believes they have a long future in the white jersey.

'Being an older member of the squad, you see these young guys come in and you want them to be successful,' said Youngs.

'Tom is an unbelievably special player. He works incredibly hard and nothing seems to faze him. He's in this bubble - and he's just loving every moment of it. Things like that are infectious and I'm sure he'll continue to grow and grow as a player. I'm sure he'll go on to be one of the greatest back-rowers England have ever had, I've no doubt.

'Underhill, though he looks a lot older, isn't too old himself. Both those guys, and the energy they bring - I'm just pleased and proud of them.' 

At the 2015 World Cup, there was a vast gulf between northern and southern hemisphere teams at the breakdown. The emergence of England's new youngsters has helped close the gap, with Curry putting the growth down to a change in approach in the Premiership.

'I think it probably is catching up,' said Curry. 'Teams in the Premiership are developing that style and that comes on to the international stage. The way rugby is going, you see the benefits of that free-flowing attack and the ability to slow ball down at the breakdown, especially defensively. 

'To be able to stop that or speed it up is massive, so you'll notice it in the style of the breakdown, how people are attacking is probably a bit more unstructured. There's a lot more kicking. Northern teams are starting to adapt to that.' 

Underhill backed up Curry's comments, claiming English rugby had to adapt or be left behind.

'I looked up to guys like Richie McCaw and David Pocock,' said Underhill. 'Over time, the difference between those who are very good and those who are good gets smaller. Now you're at a point where this is probably one of the most competitive World Cups because you couldn't call a game, you couldn't tell who would beat who because most teams have got better.

'David Pocock was so good at the breakdwown that teams had to change the way they played against him. If they didn't and they didn't sort out their breakdown in attack, then they wouldn't get anywhere.' 

Neither Underhill nor Curry were born when England last played New Zealand in a World Cup knockout game. It is even longer since they beat them in one, but Underhill is confident of an upset.

'We can beat them by sticking to the things that we're good at and bringing the best versions of ourselves,' he said. 'We all believe that if we can do that, there's no reason why we can't win.'