Kleyn: 'Same job, just a different colour jersey'
Springbok lock Jean Kleyn might be on his way to the World Cup for South Africa on Saturday, but the towering lock is not ready to bid Munster farewell yet.
The 29-year-old former Linden Hoërskool pupil calls Limerick home these days after he made the move to Munster in 2016 following a call from Rassie Erasmus, who was coaching at Thomond Park.
Kleyn got another call from Erasmus this year in May, inviting him to the Springboks training camp.
But if South African franchises had the mindset to lure the 2.03m lock back to his home country, they will have to wait another year or so.
Speaking to Kleyn after the World Cup squad announcement, he told Rugby365 that he still had another year left on his contract with Munster.
“When Rassie phoned me back in 2016, I was 22 years old, and I didn’t have anything tying me down at the time in terms of family and such,” Kleyn said.
“So I said I would take the chance and see how it panned out, and maybe come back or go somewhere else.
“It worked out and three years later I was in the Irish squad and I’ve been at Munster for seven years now. I’ve got another year left of my contract and hopefully I can stay a bit longer.
“It is sort of home away from home now.
“My wife is Irish and we have a six-month-old son, so I would be delighted if we could stay there for a few more years.
“And if I can stay here [with the Springboks] for a few more years, I would be very happy about that as well,” the hulking forward explained.
Kleyn said back when he got the call-up to the Irish squad, it was a massive honour to represent Ireland and at the time it was an incredibly big thing.
“And now I get to represent the country of my birth. It is your home country.”
Kleyn earned five caps for Ireland in 2019 after qualifying on residency rule but was able to switch allegiance for the second time after his stand-down period exceeded the required three years.
Since his move to Munster, his brother and parents have also moved there, which makes coming back to South Africa even more difficult.
And that is why he never even thought there would be a remote chance to represent his country at some stage.
“To be honest I didn’t think South Africa was on the cards at all.
“It was a bit of a shock when I got a call from Rassie at the end of May after the [URC] Final. So literally from that day it’s been my prime focus and it’s what I’ve devoted the last two months to.
“I don’t think it was really on the cards for me for 2023, because obviously I hadn’t been involved with Ireland for a few years. And I also didn’t think this opportunity would come by.
“From my perspective I’m delighted.
“I said from the start I am just going to do my very best and play my game. I figured the reason why Rassie called me up was because of the game I play. So I wasn’t going to try anything different, I was just going to play my game and be me.
“And thankfully I did well enough in the opportunities I got to prove that I deserve a spot here, which is fantastic for me.
“I think I played reasonably well and I left the jersey in a good condition. I think that is always the big thing, when you put the jersey on, always leave it in a better place.”
And to be an understudy to one of the best locks in the world, Eben Etzebeth, is the icing on the cake of Kleyn.
“I think Eben is well past ‘on the way to becoming a Bok legend’. No look, Eben is the best tighthead lock in the world and if I’m playing second fiddle to the best in the world, I am not doing too badly.
“He is a fantastic player and I think he showed his class and his quality against Argentina again with the performance he had.”
Kleyn said the job of a tighthead lock hasn’t changed since he played for Ireland.
“Same job, just a different colour jersey.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments