Born in Linden, a small suburb on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Jean Kleyn's rugby career has taken an unusual path. From his early days with the Western Province, his last seven years with Munster and Ireland, to now his return to the Rainbow Nation and their national side, it has been a quite surreal if not unbelievable career.
On Saturday, he'll play against the country where he's lived for seven years and the country who gave him his first international caps. Here's the story of his fascinating career, and how Kleyn could play for two countries.
Munster 2016-2019
In 2016 Kleyn signed with Munster in the hope of establishing Irish residency, much like current members of the Irish side; James Lowe, Jamison Gibson Park and Bundee Aki. Kleyn's early years at Munster he showed signs of the brutal, physical brand of a stereotypical South African lock forward.
Kleyn said of his international aspirations in 2018:
"Every rugby player has aspirations to play at the highest level, and the way Ireland are playing now they are the highest level. So if I could possibly make the team by merit, I'd love to play."
By the end of 2018 he had earned 50 caps for the province, been nominated for Munster player of the year and nailed down his starting role within the side. His scrummaging was a much-talked about factor for a second row in his early years at Munster along with his physical presence around the park.
Ireland call up and 2019 Rugby World Cup
After 3 quality seasons for Munster and completing the three years of required residency in order to play for Ireland, Kleyn was called up to the preliminary Irish World Cup squad and given his debut against Italy in August 2019 by Joe Schmidt. After those World Cup warm up games, Kleyn had impressed, so much so that he earned a call up to the squad travelling to Japan.
Kleyn's selection, despite his quality performances, was under immediate scrutiny as he was selected ahead of stalwart, Devin Toner. It was a tournament to forget for Ireland as they were first defeated by the hosts Japan and then another quarter final demolition job at the hands of the All Blacks rounded out a disastrous campaign.
Kleyn's selection was noted by fans and the media as a sign of the lack of clarity in Schmidt's ranks leading in to the tournament. Players like Kleyn and Jack Carty became unfortunate scapegoats for a campaign that had fallen short of any expectations, as the rest of the world caught up with Schmidt's tactics.
12 October 2019; Jean Kleyn of Ireland during the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Ireland and Samoa at the Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium in Fukuoka, Japan. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Munster 2019-present
Kleyn's return to Munster has been nothing short of triumph. After returning from Japan, Kleyn missed most of the 2019/20 season with injury.
Since then, Kleyn's progression both in terms of his play and leadership within the Munster set up has been superb. In his last two seasons he's made 42 appearances for the province, including 38 starts. An old cliché in sport is, "availability is the best ability," and Kleyn's consistent presence and performance has made him a hugely valuable asset to Munster over the past seasons. This led to personal acknowledgment for Kleyn being named in the URC Dream Team for the 2021/22 season.
Kleyn's partnership, especially in the later part of games, with RG Snyman played a substantial role in Munster's sensational run at the end of last season. In which, they went undefeated in their final 5 league games(including three away, in South Africa) to claim the league title and Munster's first silverware in 12 years.
Andy Farrell took over for Joe Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup. Kleyn has not featured for Ireland under Farrell though he's been an integral part of the Munster set-up this decade.
Kleyn married Aisling Kelly, a primary school teacher, in 2021.
27 May 2023; Munster players, including Jean Kleyn, Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Craig Casey, RG Snyman and Diarmuid Barron celebrate after winning the United Rugby Championship Final match between DHL Stormers and Munster at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Nic Bothma/Sportsfile
Why Jean Kleyn can play for South Africa after playing for Ireland
Kleyn's career at international level was given a second life when World Rugby passed a law in 2021 allowing players to play for the country's of their birth, as long as they hadn't made an international appearance in three years.
In 2022, Kleyn became eligible to play for South Africa again and in the summer of 2023, Kleyn was called into the Rugby Championship squad for South Africa.
Upon his call up for the Springboks, Kleyn said:
"I didn't grow up as a young boy watching Paul O'Connell thinking I want to play in his jersey. I was watching Bakkies Botha... thinking, one day."
He was named to start in South Africa's first Rugby Championship game of 2023 against Australia in Pretoria and earned his spot in the Boks World Cup squad.
Kleyn's appearance for South Africa against Romania last Sunday made him one of the first players to play consecutive World Cups for different nations. Kleyn has been named on the bench to play against Ireland in their upcoming Pool B clash.
We imagine there'll be surreal scenes on Saturday should Kleyn and Munster teammate RG Snyman appear off the bench in the vital period of the game.
SEE MORE: 7 South African-Born Players That Represented Ireland At International Level
