Jean Kleyn represents his country, South Africa, and Munster, an Irish United Rugby Championship club, as a professional rugby union player from South Africa. He substituted in South Africa’s 2023 World Cup victory over New Zealand.
| Name | Jean Kleyn |
| Date of birth | 26 August 1993 |
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | South African |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Height | 203 cm |
| Weight | 123 kg |
| School | Linden High School |
| College | University of Stellenbosch |
| Profession | Rugby Player |
| Position | Lock |
| Marital status | Married |
| Social media |
Jean Kleyn is rugby player from South Africa who plays as a lock for Munster Rugby in Ireland. He was born on the 26th of August 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Kleyn is 203 centimeters tall and weighs 123 kilograms. He is married to Aisling Kleyn and they tied the knot in 2021.
CAREER (2012-13)
Jean Kleyn attended Hoerskool Linden and he represented Western Province U19s during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He was promoted to the under 21 Western Province side in that same year and the season that followed (2013). He got two winner’s medals as the Western Province ended as champions in both the 2012 and 2013 season.
2014 – 2015
He was included in the Stormers squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season and was a key player for Western Province in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division. In the 2013 and 2014 Vodacom Cup squads, Kleyn could not play due to a knee injury that was followed by an ankle injury. However, he was able to join the Stormers 2014 Super Rugby squad. He missed the early part of this season and when he joined later on, his first match was against the Bulls in Pretoria. This was followed by three more appearances off the bench. On the Western Province side, Klein started ten matches in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division.
Kleyn appeared in thirteen of the Stormers seventeen matches, including five starts, during the 2015 Super Rugby season. He also played in their qualifier against the ACT Brumbies, an Australian professional rugby union team. He once again was a key player for a Western Province team in the 2015 Currie Cup, although the game ended with a 32-24 win to the Golden Lions.
2016 – 2017
Kleyn suffered an arm injury in a warm-up match against the Jaguares prior to the 2016 Super Rugby season, which ruled him out of the start of the competition. Kleyn secured an early release from his contract with Western Province in July 2016, leaving South Africa to join Irish Pro14 side, Munster, on a three-year contract prior to the 2016–17 Pro12 season.
Kleyn made his competitive debut for Munster when he came on as a substitute against Scarlets in the sides opening 2016–17 Pro12 fixture, on 3 September 2016. Kleyn was nominated for the 2018 Munster Rugby Player of the Year award in April 2018. The South African lock signed a new deal that would keep him at the province until June 2022 in September 2018. The deal meant Kleyn became eligible to represent Ireland under World Rugby residency rules in September 2019. In May 2019, he was named in Ireland’s squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup pre-season.
RUGBY WORLD CUP.
He made his debut for Ireland in their 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Italy on 10 August 2019 and was selected in the Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Kleyn took his test cap tally to 5 at the World Cup with injury ruling him out of the 2020 Six Nations. Kleyn made his debut with South Africa and earned his second cap in the South Africa vs Argentina game in August 2023. Ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2023, Kleyn was named in the squad for South Africa.