'Shocked' Kleyn eager to seize Springbok chance

PRETORIA : Lock Jean Kleyn was as surprised as anyone when he received a call-up to South Africa's squad for the Rugby Championship but is determined to prove his worth against Australia on Saturday.

Kleyn, 29, was born in South Africa but played five tests for Ireland, the last at the 2019 World Cup, having been taken to that country by current Bok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who was coach of Munster at the time.

World Rugby introduced a rule change in 2021 that allows test-capped players to represent a second national team if they are eligible after a period of three years of inactivity with their original country.

"I was as shocked as the rest of the world when I got the call," Kleyn told reporters on Wednesday. "My journey was a bit of a round trip because Rassie was the person who took me to Munster, and four years later he was also the person to bring me back. It’s a massive honour and an opportunity I could not pass by."

Kleyn says while he enjoyed his time playing for Ireland, he grew up dreaming of wearing the darker green jersey of the Boks.

"It’s different because this is my home country. It was a great honour to play for Ireland but growing up I used to watch (former Bok lock) Bakkies Botha on the field.

"Dreams come true, here I am, I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity, but things change."

Kleyn is not the only Munster lock in the squad, RG Snyman has been able to put several years of persistent injuries behind him to return to the squad ahead of this year's World Cup in France.

"It is incredible to have RG here," Kleyn said. “We are great friends and I’ve been learning a lot from him here to get me up to speed with the systems. If it works out that we can play together, it would be a special moment and a