Cape Town -  Former Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning captains Francois Pienaar and John Smit have highlighted a few key areas if Boks want to claim gold in Japan later this year.

The pair, who helped the Boks to glory in 1995 (Pienaar) and 2007 (Smit), both point to a strong winning culture as well as strong leadership and team ethos as key factors in a championship side.

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"I think that a culture of winning is firstly a very important thing for any team travelling to Japan later this year," Pienaar said inside the publication.

'An established leadership core, especially when the team is under pressure, is also vital," Pienaar added. 

What about Smit, whose 2007 Springboks were clinical in their execution as they beat England 15-6 in the final at the Stade de France in Paris?

"Our team ethos was strong, and we had the ability to not let big challenges get in our way, while we were resolute in our desire and our execution on how we wanted to win the Webb Ellis Cup," Smit said.

"It will be vitally important for the leaders in the team to work together well and to make sure that they speak the same language and from the same handbook as Rassie and his coaches, and that the messages they relay are exactly what the coach wants."