Vodacom Bulls pivot Johan Goosen is tearing a page out of the All Blacks playbook and lacing up some boxing gloves in a bid to speed up his recovery from injury.

Boxing has long since become a popular conditioning method among professional rugby players, especially for rehabilitation, with former All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams and fellow Kiwi great Keven Mealamu even parlaying their passion for the sweet science into post-retirement career switches.

Now, the Bulls are getting in on the act with former double cruiserweight-champion Sebastiaan Rothmann working with the strength-and-conditioning team at the Pretoria outfit to get the likes of Goosen fighting fit and back on the field faster than a Floyd Mayweather one-two combo.

Sidelined with a knee problem suffered in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last year, Goosen told the Citizen website: “[Boxing] has been great in terms of the cardio element during my rehabilitation because you can’t always push as hard as you want in a pool. But I’ve also seen it improve my general conditioning.

“I used to have pain in my shoulders from old injuries, and since I started boxing with Sebastiaan that’s gone away.

“I also love the speed it’s brought me. I’ve done a lot of rehab in my career, and rehab is generally a mental battle. Boxing makes you mentally tough while at the same time taking your mind away from your current situation.”

The Bulls next face Zebre in Parma on 25 February.