Who exactly is Jean Kleyn — the Springboks’ ‘Irish’ lock?

There’s been plenty of talk and a fuss made about the inclusion and availability of Jean Kleyn in the Springbok squad ahead of this season’s Rugby Championship, starting on 8 July.

But who exactly is Kleyn, the Munster lock who’s set to wear the green and gold in a few weeks’ time and could well be a part of the Springbok team at this year’s World Cup.

Here’s what you need to know.

Key information

Kleyn is 29 years old, tips the scales at 121kg and stands 2.03m tall. He attended Hoërskool Linden in Joburg, but then headed to the Western Cape where he studied at the University of Stellenbosch.

He played briefly for Western Province and the Stormers between 2014 and 2016 before moving to Ireland and joining Munster.

Munster

Kleyn made his Munster debut in September 2016 and became a team regular over the next year. He did, however, suffer neck and thumb injuries which halted his progress, but earned his 50th cap for the Irish team in 2018.

In 2022 Kleyn signed a three-year extension with Munster, who he helped beat the Stormers in the 2023 United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town a few weeks ago.

Ireland

On 8 August 2019 the former Stormers man qualified to play for Ireland on the residency rule — the same rule that allowed CJ Stander and Richardt Strauss to play for their adopted country.

Kleyn featured for Ireland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, having made his debut months earlier, but after playing just five Tests hasn’t featured again at Test level since late 2019.

Bok call-up

Kleyn was called up to the Bok squad for the Rugby Championship following World Rugby’s eligibility rule change — a player can return to play for the country of his birth if he has not played for a different country for 36 months.

SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said Kleyn’s relationship with RG Snyman in the Munster second row would be beneficial for the Boks in what would be a demanding 2023 season. Erasmus referred to Kleyn as “monster player”.

What coach Jacques Nienaber says

The door opened for Kleyn following the injury and unavailability of Eben Etzebeth.

Coach Jacques Nienaber was quoted by sarugbymag.co.za as saying the following about the Boks’ new lock: “Jean knows the majority of players from his days at the Stormers … so his coming into the mix is no issue, he trusts them and they trust him.

“From a coaching point of view Rassie and I coached him at the Stormers and then at Munster … so we know what we have in him and what he can do for the Boks.”