JEAN KLEYN IS a local in Limerick these days. He arrived from South Africa in 2016 with hopes of simply making his move to Munster a success. Little did he know how the place would become home.
He’s married to a Galway girl, Aisling, and they recently finished building their new home close to Munster’s training centre at the University of Limerick. They’re expecting their first child in the next two weeks, so roots are well and truly established.
On top of that, Kleyn’s brother, Johan, also lives in Ireland. He had been working as a chartered accountant in the Cayman Islands but was starting a family and wanted to be closer to South Africa. Good friends of Johan’s had moved back to Ireland, so he followed on to settle in Dublin a couple of years after Jean had pitched up in Limerick.
Even Kleyn’s parents have moved from South Africa, settling in the UK in order to be closer to Jean and Johan.
None of this is what Kleyn imagined when he was growing up in Linden, a suburb of Johannesburg, and going to Hoërskool Linden, where he played rugby “for the craic.” Even when he was breaking through with Western Province and the Stormers, Kleyn had no idea where rugby would take him.
“My entire world has changed through my move to Munster,” says Kleyn
“It’s an odd one but it’s incredibly heartening to know the move at the start was worth what’s happening now, where I am now in my life.
“I have great friends, I’m part of a great club, a great community. It’s weird to think how much time has passed and how much has happened since I arrived here first.
“I don’t think I ever had what I have now in mind for myself, but everything I have now I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”
Kleyn has been in good form this season. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Kleyn’s comfort in his own skin is obvious. Life off the pitch is exciting, while he’s thriving on it too. With 125 Munster caps to his name, Kleyn has become a stalwart in the second row for the province. He specialises in the stuff that makes others look good.
Of course, he’s an Ireland international too. He has won five caps, all of which came under Joe Schmidt after Kleyn qualified on residency. His inclusion in the World Cup squad that year was a major story at the time. With the popular Devin Toner missing out, Kleyn was a target for plenty of personal criticism and even abuse.
The lesson he took from that tough experience was simply to block out the noise from people whose opinions don’t matter. This applies to the good stuff as well as the bad.
“During that World Cup thing, I spent too much time listening to what the outside world was saying was going well and believing it,” explains Kleyn, who deleted his Twitter account.
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“Then you work yourself into the mind frame of well, the outside noise determines my happiness.
“It’s like a dopamine rush. You know, you get this rave review after a match and it’s ‘Jeez, that’s great, everybody loves me and I feel really good about myself.’
“Then as always happens, eventually you have a shocker and all of a sudden everyone’s on your back and you feel terrible.
“Then, on top of that, you don’t bounce back from that because you’re in this rut and because you’re in a rut you play poorly and you get more bad reviews and it’s like an endless cycle.
“So the best thing I ever did was just get rid of it all and say ‘C’est la vie, let them be’. They can say what they want to say. I’m here, I’m doing my bit, enjoying my rugby, and listening to what’s inside these four walls. It seems to work with me.”
Kleyn last played for Ireland in 2019. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Those ‘inside the four walls’ of Munster appreciate the nuts-and-bolts work in which Kleyn excels. He’s excellent in the maul and scrum, delights in clearing out rucks, loves tackling, and is superb at latching onto ball-carriers.
Indeed, Kleyn jokingly takes credit for Gavin Coombes’ prolific try-scoring, revealing that he doesn’t get a try-scoring assist bonus for his latches.
“I’d say I would be a millionaire if I did at this rate!” says Kleyn with a laugh.
“I’ve definitely latched him for between 10 and 15 tries. I am hoping someday someone says, ‘Hey, look, you did that!”
To be fair, the Munster coaches always flag Kleyn’s good work. He says attack coach Mike Prendergast is particularly keen to highlight the “unseen work” that opens doors for others.
“He is very focused on things like lads cleaning through [the ruck] and doing the unseen things, working back, once you are actually working off the ball, that is the way we describe it.
“I think in fairness to the coaches, I don’t want to say I get loads of plaudits, but those things get noticed, so just from that perspective I can’t really complain.”
And Munster are now looking for more from Kleyn and all of his fellow forwards under head coach Graham Rowntree and attack specialist Prendergast.
With a new high-tempo approach to training and playing, Kleyn and co. are being pushed to use their catch-pass and decision-making skills more than ever.
Kleyn has five Ireland caps to his name. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“With the way we are attacking at the moment, all the forwards, all the tight five, we are being asked to do a lot more in terms of carrying the ball to the line, being able to play those inside, outside balls, blind sweeps, that kind of thing, playing the ball out the back,” says Kleyn.
“There is a lot of that being asked of us whereas maybe in previous years we weren’t being used to our full potential.
“I think that is why our attack is flourishing at the moment because the backs are working really hard off the back of us and it just makes the defenders guess, it forces them to guess.
“I think it is just a case of our entire outlook on the game has changed with Prendy and the lads coaching.”
Kleyn is contracted to Munster until 2024 and is clearly enjoying being part of the set-up, while he would like another chance to wear the green jersey at Test level.
That said, he isn’t losing sleep over being outside Andy Farrell’s plans with Ireland.
“I’m very much, if it happens, it happens. Obviously, I’d be delighted to play for Ireland again and represent the country. It would be massive for me but if it doesn’t happen, it’s just part of life.
“I’m doing as much as I can here at Munster to put my hand up and at the end of the day, that’s all I can do. I can’t do more than my best. That’s what I feel like I’m putting out there.”
Tomorrow, Kleyn goes up against a mammoth Toulouse pack in the Champions Cup and there’s no doubt that he’s relishing the chance. Munster are “quietly confident,” in Kleyn’s words.
And more importantly, he and Aisling are getting set for the impending arrival.
“We’re looking forward to it, it’s going to be one of life’s great adventures.”
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'My entire world has changed through my move to Munster'
JEAN KLEYN IS a local in Limerick these days. He arrived from South Africa in 2016 with hopes of simply making his move to Munster a success. Little did he know how the place would become home.
He’s married to a Galway girl, Aisling, and they recently finished building their new home close to Munster’s training centre at the University of Limerick. They’re expecting their first child in the next two weeks, so roots are well and truly established.
On top of that, Kleyn’s brother, Johan, also lives in Ireland. He had been working as a chartered accountant in the Cayman Islands but was starting a family and wanted to be closer to South Africa. Good friends of Johan’s had moved back to Ireland, so he followed on to settle in Dublin a couple of years after Jean had pitched up in Limerick.
Even Kleyn’s parents have moved from South Africa, settling in the UK in order to be closer to Jean and Johan.
None of this is what Kleyn imagined when he was growing up in Linden, a suburb of Johannesburg, and going to Hoërskool Linden, where he played rugby “for the craic.” Even when he was breaking through with Western Province and the Stormers, Kleyn had no idea where rugby would take him.
“My entire world has changed through my move to Munster,” says Kleyn
“It’s an odd one but it’s incredibly heartening to know the move at the start was worth what’s happening now, where I am now in my life.
“I have great friends, I’m part of a great club, a great community. It’s weird to think how much time has passed and how much has happened since I arrived here first.
“I don’t think I ever had what I have now in mind for myself, but everything I have now I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”
Kleyn’s comfort in his own skin is obvious. Life off the pitch is exciting, while he’s thriving on it too. With 125 Munster caps to his name, Kleyn has become a stalwart in the second row for the province. He specialises in the stuff that makes others look good.
Of course, he’s an Ireland international too. He has won five caps, all of which came under Joe Schmidt after Kleyn qualified on residency. His inclusion in the World Cup squad that year was a major story at the time. With the popular Devin Toner missing out, Kleyn was a target for plenty of personal criticism and even abuse.
The lesson he took from that tough experience was simply to block out the noise from people whose opinions don’t matter. This applies to the good stuff as well as the bad.
“During that World Cup thing, I spent too much time listening to what the outside world was saying was going well and believing it,” explains Kleyn, who deleted his Twitter account.
“Then you work yourself into the mind frame of well, the outside noise determines my happiness.
“It’s like a dopamine rush. You know, you get this rave review after a match and it’s ‘Jeez, that’s great, everybody loves me and I feel really good about myself.’
“Then as always happens, eventually you have a shocker and all of a sudden everyone’s on your back and you feel terrible.
“Then, on top of that, you don’t bounce back from that because you’re in this rut and because you’re in a rut you play poorly and you get more bad reviews and it’s like an endless cycle.
“So the best thing I ever did was just get rid of it all and say ‘C’est la vie, let them be’. They can say what they want to say. I’m here, I’m doing my bit, enjoying my rugby, and listening to what’s inside these four walls. It seems to work with me.”
Those ‘inside the four walls’ of Munster appreciate the nuts-and-bolts work in which Kleyn excels. He’s excellent in the maul and scrum, delights in clearing out rucks, loves tackling, and is superb at latching onto ball-carriers.
Indeed, Kleyn jokingly takes credit for Gavin Coombes’ prolific try-scoring, revealing that he doesn’t get a try-scoring assist bonus for his latches.
“I’d say I would be a millionaire if I did at this rate!” says Kleyn with a laugh.
“I’ve definitely latched him for between 10 and 15 tries. I am hoping someday someone says, ‘Hey, look, you did that!”
To be fair, the Munster coaches always flag Kleyn’s good work. He says attack coach Mike Prendergast is particularly keen to highlight the “unseen work” that opens doors for others.
“He is very focused on things like lads cleaning through [the ruck] and doing the unseen things, working back, once you are actually working off the ball, that is the way we describe it.
“I think in fairness to the coaches, I don’t want to say I get loads of plaudits, but those things get noticed, so just from that perspective I can’t really complain.”
And Munster are now looking for more from Kleyn and all of his fellow forwards under head coach Graham Rowntree and attack specialist Prendergast.
With a new high-tempo approach to training and playing, Kleyn and co. are being pushed to use their catch-pass and decision-making skills more than ever.
“With the way we are attacking at the moment, all the forwards, all the tight five, we are being asked to do a lot more in terms of carrying the ball to the line, being able to play those inside, outside balls, blind sweeps, that kind of thing, playing the ball out the back,” says Kleyn.
“There is a lot of that being asked of us whereas maybe in previous years we weren’t being used to our full potential.
“I think that is why our attack is flourishing at the moment because the backs are working really hard off the back of us and it just makes the defenders guess, it forces them to guess.
“I think it is just a case of our entire outlook on the game has changed with Prendy and the lads coaching.”
Kleyn is contracted to Munster until 2024 and is clearly enjoying being part of the set-up, while he would like another chance to wear the green jersey at Test level.
That said, he isn’t losing sleep over being outside Andy Farrell’s plans with Ireland.
“I’m very much, if it happens, it happens. Obviously, I’d be delighted to play for Ireland again and represent the country. It would be massive for me but if it doesn’t happen, it’s just part of life.
“I’m doing as much as I can here at Munster to put my hand up and at the end of the day, that’s all I can do. I can’t do more than my best. That’s what I feel like I’m putting out there.”
Tomorrow, Kleyn goes up against a mammoth Toulouse pack in the Champions Cup and there’s no doubt that he’s relishing the chance. Munster are “quietly confident,” in Kleyn’s words.
And more importantly, he and Aisling are getting set for the impending arrival.
“We’re looking forward to it, it’s going to be one of life’s great adventures.”
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
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