THUMB SURGERY ROBBED Jean Kleyn of a shot at Castres in the Champions Cup, but now he’s fit again he can take his frustration out on the Irish provinces over Christmas, starting with Ulster tomorrow.
The South African lock tore ligaments in his thumb against Cheetahs at the start of November and has had to take a watching brief since then, but he has seen plenty to try and improve in his time away from the field.
In the last two weeks Munster’s lineout has been running at a 77% conversion rate, which is well below their average of 91% in the PRO14, where they have only lost 11 of their own throw all season.
But it can’t help when the host broadcaster picks up their lineout call when it’s delivered from the prop to the hooker. Watching the game from his couch Kleyn winced when he heard the call relayed over the sideline microphone, but it’s already been binned as a result, he says.
“You always do (hear them) and you have to be prepared for that to happen because it is going to happen, so we just change the call,” said Kleyn, who recently signed a new three-year contract extension at the province.
There is only so many lineout combinations you can have you know so we just have to change the calls – that’s our big tactic for spoiling the opposition.
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“I think Castres were a strong contesting side in the last couple of weeks so they are a tough lineout outfit to go up against. But yeah I think it is something we just need to work on, better execution I think.
“I don’t think we are making mistakes in terms of the calling and our structure and stuff, it’s just concentration on errors like not giving the full lift or not jumping in exactly the right spot. I think it’s more down to our focus than anything else and it’s something we will have to work out going forward if we are to win a trophy at the end of the season.”
Kleyn is supporting a well scarred thumb after the surgery, but he’s happy that his problem has been repaired. Being without his hand for a few weeks meant no upper body weight training, so he was subjected to the pain of cardio workouts.
“Yeah there has been a lot of running man. That’s the problem with hand injuries, I did my wrist just before I got here three years ago and it was the same case. You are actually able to do most things but they just lash you like, you run so much it’s atrocious, it’s almost better having an ankle injury!
“It seems to me to be such a stupid little injury but the thing is with fingers it’s grand because you can strap two of them together. Half the fingers on my hands probably don’t work as good as they should. But with thumbs you don’t realise that if you have your thumbs you can’t really do anything like. It’s very debilitating.”
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The disappointment of the loss in Castres has been binned along with the lineout call according to Kleyn, and focus has been switched back to the PRO14 and a tough tussle in Ulster. A 24-17 New Year’s Day loss in Belfast got 2018 off to a shocking start, a game Kleyn was rested for, but he knows the perils that the venue presented for Munster over the years.
“They are in flying form, they have been operating very well in their set-piece and it has been working very well and their attack has been working very well as well.
“Obviously we have been doing a review on them and we will try to exploit some of the weaknesses we feel we see in their game, try to plug the holes we see in our own defence where we feel they might attack us and yeah it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“We’ll probably rest a good few of the international lads this week so from my understanding we will pick a very hungry team who would like to prove a point going out there this week.
“If we can go up there and get a victory we will be rolling into a good week going to the Leinster game and then once again it’s Connacht and we are a few points behind Glasgow in the table at the minute so we want to be collecting as many points as we can and hopefully top the table by the end of the season.”
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Jean Kleyn bursting to make Munster return
THUMB SURGERY ROBBED Jean Kleyn of a shot at Castres in the Champions Cup, but now he’s fit again he can take his frustration out on the Irish provinces over Christmas, starting with Ulster tomorrow.
The South African lock tore ligaments in his thumb against Cheetahs at the start of November and has had to take a watching brief since then, but he has seen plenty to try and improve in his time away from the field.
In the last two weeks Munster’s lineout has been running at a 77% conversion rate, which is well below their average of 91% in the PRO14, where they have only lost 11 of their own throw all season.
But it can’t help when the host broadcaster picks up their lineout call when it’s delivered from the prop to the hooker. Watching the game from his couch Kleyn winced when he heard the call relayed over the sideline microphone, but it’s already been binned as a result, he says.
“You always do (hear them) and you have to be prepared for that to happen because it is going to happen, so we just change the call,” said Kleyn, who recently signed a new three-year contract extension at the province.
“I think Castres were a strong contesting side in the last couple of weeks so they are a tough lineout outfit to go up against. But yeah I think it is something we just need to work on, better execution I think.
“I don’t think we are making mistakes in terms of the calling and our structure and stuff, it’s just concentration on errors like not giving the full lift or not jumping in exactly the right spot. I think it’s more down to our focus than anything else and it’s something we will have to work out going forward if we are to win a trophy at the end of the season.”
Kleyn is supporting a well scarred thumb after the surgery, but he’s happy that his problem has been repaired. Being without his hand for a few weeks meant no upper body weight training, so he was subjected to the pain of cardio workouts.
“Yeah there has been a lot of running man. That’s the problem with hand injuries, I did my wrist just before I got here three years ago and it was the same case. You are actually able to do most things but they just lash you like, you run so much it’s atrocious, it’s almost better having an ankle injury!
“It seems to me to be such a stupid little injury but the thing is with fingers it’s grand because you can strap two of them together. Half the fingers on my hands probably don’t work as good as they should. But with thumbs you don’t realise that if you have your thumbs you can’t really do anything like. It’s very debilitating.”
The disappointment of the loss in Castres has been binned along with the lineout call according to Kleyn, and focus has been switched back to the PRO14 and a tough tussle in Ulster. A 24-17 New Year’s Day loss in Belfast got 2018 off to a shocking start, a game Kleyn was rested for, but he knows the perils that the venue presented for Munster over the years.
“They are in flying form, they have been operating very well in their set-piece and it has been working very well and their attack has been working very well as well.
“Obviously we have been doing a review on them and we will try to exploit some of the weaknesses we feel we see in their game, try to plug the holes we see in our own defence where we feel they might attack us and yeah it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“We’ll probably rest a good few of the international lads this week so from my understanding we will pick a very hungry team who would like to prove a point going out there this week.
“If we can go up there and get a victory we will be rolling into a good week going to the Leinster game and then once again it’s Connacht and we are a few points behind Glasgow in the table at the minute so we want to be collecting as many points as we can and hopefully top the table by the end of the season.”
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