JEAN KLEYN LIKES the physical aspects of rugby.
Tackling, carrying, rucking, scrummaging, mauling – those things are his pride and joy.
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The South African native, called up to Ireland’s wider training squad ahead of the World Cup, is a bit of an old-school ‘enforcer,’ although the game has obviously changed and the kind of foul play that was once common is now close to non-existent.
Kleyn is a popular figure with Munster fans. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
If ever there is pushing and shoving, jersey grabbing or general schemozzling during a Munster game, Kleyn will be in the thick of it.
“I don’t shy away from confrontation, I always feel a bit better if we had a little scuffle in the game,” the second row told The42 last year. “If you can get into the oppositions’ heads, that’s the one place where you can influence their play in a very legal way.”
He likes leaving a physical mark on opponents too.
Mauls?
“You get to run into a group of lads as hard as you can, what’s there not to like!”
Rucks?
“I love rucks. I have to say it’s one of my favourite parts of the game. I try to make as much of a physical impact as I possibly can.”
Clearly, Joe Schmidt likes what 6ft 8ins Kleyn brings to the game too, having included the 25-year-old in the 44-man Ireland squad that will gather on 16 June to begin training ahead of the World Cup.
The uncapped Kleyn is still an outsider to be included in the final 31-man World Cup, but it will be fascinating to hear how he does in Ireland training and also to see if he gets a debut in August.
The 120kg South African native becomes eligible for Ireland on 8 August – following three years of residency on these shores – and the first World Cup warm-up game is against Italy in Dublin on 10 August.
With Kleyn included as part of a six-man group of second rows, his fellow South African native Quinn Roux, Ulster’s Kieran Treadwell, Connacht’s Gavin Thornbury and Munster’s Billy Holland are among those to miss out.
Kleyn with CJ Stander. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
It is true that Roux and Thornbury ended the season injured and that may have been a factor, but Schmidt is a fan of Kleyn’s skillset.
He is an effective operator in the rucks and maul. He believes his handling skills have improved vastly since joining Munster, his work-rate is usually very high, and he is a powerful scrummager in the slot behind the tighthead prop – the harder of the two second row positions at the set-piece.
“You just have to give everything for 10 or 15 seconds and sometimes you get caught a little bit high and you get driven back,” said Kleyn.
“Tighthead scrummaging is about biting down and giving your tighthead prop as much as you can. There’s nothing glamorous about it.”