By Mark Gleeson
PRESLES COURCELLES, France (Reuters) – South Africa lock Jean Kleyn is unlikely to make the line-up for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final but as a member of the 33-man squad he is still pinching himself at how dramatically his fortunes have turned during the last months.
A beneficiary of World Rugby’s revised eligibility rules, Kleyn competed at the World Cup for the Springboks in France four years after donning Irish colours at the last tournament in Japan.
Born in Johannesburg, he played for the Stormers in Super Rugby before moving from South Africa to Irish club Munster in mid-2016.
After three years, rugby’s residency rules meant he was eligible to play for Ireland, in time to be picked for the World Cup in Japan, and he played in three warm up tests and two more at the tournament. But he was never chosen again.
A rule change by World Rugby in 2021 allows test-capped players to represent a second national team if eligible after a period of three years of inactivity with their original country and a successful season with Munster in the United Rugby Championship suddenly saw Kleyn in the mix for the Springboks.
“I think I’ve caught myself thinking about it probably too often,” Kleyn said of the surreal past few months after debuting for the Boks in the Rugby Championship in June.
“It’s a strange one because if you asked me six months ago if I had at all thought that I had any chance of being here at a World Cup final and playing for the Springboks, I would have told you, ‘You’re absolutely insane’.
“I’ll probably wake up when it’s all said and done, and think ‘Was that a dream or did that actually happen?’,” he said.
JOURNEY
“It’s been a fantastic journey for me. It’s been brilliant to have been part of the squad. To be honest it’s one of the best groups of players that I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with, working with and knowing,” Kleyn added.
“From players to staff to the medical team to the coaches, they’re all great people and they put in the hard work and they’re passionate about the game and passionate about South Africa. It’s been an absolute pleasure being a part of it.”
At a press conference on Monday, the 30-year-old Kleyn was jokingly described as the first Irishman to get to a World Cup final.
“I thought there would be quite a negative reaction when I played for the Springboks from, I suppose, my history with the Irish media,” he added.
“I figured there would be a few negative articles, but it was really positive, and I was really happy about that. It’s made it a lot easier for me.”
(Editing by xx)
