Bok coach Nienaber on Johan Goosen's alignment camp attendance: I need to know him better

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said the invitation of injured Bulls flyhalf to the Springbok alignment camp that starts this week was based on getting to know the player better.

Nienaber and Goosen may have gone to the same school (Grey College), albeit years apart, but their paths have hardly crossed in the rugby industry to date.

Goosen, who has played 13 Tests for the Boks scattered between 2012 and 2016, has had a colourful career.

The 29-year-old from Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape had retired from professional rugby in 2016 while still playing for Racing 92.

He controversially came out of that retirement to play for the Cheetahs in 2018 before moving to Montpellier.

He joined the Bulls from his French experience and showed a gradual uptick in form before an anterior cruciate ligament injury waylaid him in October last year.

READ | Springboks Mapimpi, Am on their rugby acumen: 'We mastered the art of the game from the streets'

Nienaber said one of the conversations they need to have with Goosen is to check where he is from a career trajectory perspective and whether he still has Springbok ambitions.

"I've never in my life worked with Goosen. I've had a couple of conversations with him, but not at a personal level," Nienaber said.

"One of the things I want to do in the alignment camps is to have a chat with him to see may if I can pick up on his character.

"Try to know him a bit better and find out where he's at in terms of his rugby career. Is playing for the Boks something he'd aspire to?

"Does he still want to play for the Springboks at the World Cup? It's things like that and I'm not saying that's the only reason he's been invited to the alignment camp.

"80 percent of the conversations will be generic and 20 percent of