Former All Blacks-turned Springboks attack coach Tony Brown has provided an insight into South Africa’s thinking by declaring he would “never” jettison an experienced player leading into a Rugby World Cup year.

Like the All Blacks in the buildup to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the Springboks have a significant group of players in their 30s, with Cheslin Kolbe, Siya Kolisi, Damian de Allende, Handre Pollard, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit among that list of heavyweight talent.

The Springboks will have to manage those players in this Rugby World Cup cycle to beat the All Blacks’ 2011-2015 achievements and win a third global showpiece in a row in 2027, but Brown signalled to The Post that the Springboks would still take as many of their experienced players to Australia as possible.

“I think it’s very, very hard to win a World Cup with young players,” Brown said.

“I think the history will tell you that the teams that win the World Cup are probably the most experienced, especially in key positions, especially with leadership.

“If you’re a coach, you obviously understand that your team’s getting older, but those are the players that are going to win you the World Cup, not necessarily the younger guys.

“The younger guys are going to come in and add energy and enthusiasm, but the experienced guys are the guys that win it.

“I think you’ve always got to have a mixture of both, but I would never throw away experience leading into a World Cup year.”

The Springboks’ two victories against the All Blacks last year were perfect examples of the experience and belief within the current Springboks squad, Brown said.

Although the Springboks put themselves under pressure across both tests due to some unforced errors and selection changes, they had the leadership to swing the games.

“As the game [in Cape Town] went on, the experience of the Springboks and the ability to change momentum [took over],” Brown said.

“It was just little key moments where Damian McKenzie missed the kick a goal and then then we get momentum back and we score a try, and the captain makes a really good decision to go to the corner. That’s the beauty of South Africa.”

The Springboks have been active in trying to blood the next tier of talent, with Rassie Erasmus using more than 50 players last year.

Their selection picture at No 10 is a snapshot of the selection decisions they face throughout the squad, with the 30-year Pollard facing competition from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 22, and the gifted Manie Libbok, 27.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok have plenty of admirers, but Brown again indicated that plenty of evidence would be needed before the Springboks pushed aside their proven performers.

“Manie got so much natural ability around seeing space,” Brown said. “He reminds me a little bit of Carlos [Spencer].

“[But] he’s been working so hard on his goalkicking that potentially he’s putting so much pressure on himself to kick goals that he’s getting worse.

“He’s got all this talent but whether we can pick him or not at this level because of his goal kicking is huge.

“Then you’ve got a young guy like Sacha who seems to have so much confidence and he sees space, and he can play different positions a little bit like a Dan Carter.

“Then you’ve got the older guy, Handre Pollard, who just wins test matches.

“You’ve got a lot of depth there, but to pick the right for the right test match is always going be tough for those three guys.”