Captain challenges England's young guns to scale heights

The All Blacks are top of the International Rugby Board's world rankings, having won the 2010 Tri-Nations without losing a game, while England still languish in the foothills of sixth place.

But less than a year out from the World Cup, Moody is convinced England are a team on the rise following a successful injection of youth.

Moody and Mark Cueto are the only survivors from the side beaten 19-6 by the All Blacks last November, while a third of England's starting XV have never started a Test at Twickenham.

Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Dan Cole all made their mark for England on the summer tour of Australia, where England drew the Test series 1-1.

Moody believes that fresh blood can inspire England to overturn the odds at Twickenham and take another major step forward with victory over the All Blacks.

"New Zealand are a quality side at the minute. They are ranked No 1 in the world. The challenge ahead of us is a very steep one and a difficult one," said Moody.

"When you play the best team in the world, you are always underdogs but I have a lot of confidence in this team and the guys within it. It is a really good group of lads and they are playing some great rugby. The hunger and enthusiasm they have brought has been brilliant. The environment in the England camp has changed for the better in every way in the last 12 months."

Moody knows what it takes to beat New Zealand, having played a try-scoring role in England's 31-28 triumph at Twickenham in 2002.

The Bath flanker's view of what is required differs from the confrontational approach articulated by England's defence coach Mike Ford earlier this week.

Ford claimed the try-laden Tri-Nations was not full-on Test rugby and that England would teach New Zealand a lesson in intensity at Twickenham.

"We want to make this a good, old-fashioned Test rugby game," said Ford.

"When our players keep hearing about how exciting (New Zealand's rugby) is, deep down they will be putting the shutters up."