THE WORLD’S best second rower Gordon Tallis has paid Robertson’s Nathan Hindmarsh the ultimate tribute by claiming its only a matter of time before he becomes the nations best.

Hindmarsh, who played a pivotal role in Australia’s ninth World Cup victory last weekend, has had a meteoric rise in the past two seasons.

Hindmarsh debuted for Parramatta in 1998 and played for the junior Kangaroos later that year but has yet to play State of Origin football.

He came into the World Cup squad expecting to play in the easier round games against Fiji and Russia and then sit out the rest of the tournament.

But coach Chris Anderson was so impressed with Hindmarsh he put him on the bench for last Sunday’s semi-final win over Wales, and he kept his spot for the final.

Tallis said he and fellow second-rower Bryan Fletcher were looking over their shoulders.

“It’s only time before Nathan Hindmarsh is the No.1 second-rower in the country,” Tallis said.

“He puts a lot of pressure on myself and Bryan Fletcher to play good every week.”

Hindmarsh said he was glad to be given the chance to help Australia defend a title the Kangaroos have held for the past 25 years.

“I wasn’t really expecting this at all,” he said.

“I expected to play against Fiji and the easier teams just to get a run, to get a taste of it.

“It’s all a bit too fast for me at the moment. I’m a bit nervous.”

Tallis said Hindmarsh’s Parramatta teammate Vella was another young player who had impressed during the tournament.

“Those three guys that I hadn’t really played with before I got here, they’ve impressed me and they’re going to be great players of the future,” he said.

“They’re 20, 21 and 22 or something like that so they’re very young and they’ve got the world at their feet.”