Kleyn pinching himself at turn of fortunes with Springboks

PRESLES COURCELLES, France : 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