WHEN RASSIE ERASMUS first got in touch with Jean Kleyn out of the blue to ask him if he wanted to come and play for the Springboks, there was one catch.
“I’m about to screw up your holiday,” Erasmus told the Munster lock.
Kleyn had been all set to enjoy some time off in the summer following Munster’s URC success and having been overlooked for Ireland’s wider World Cup training squad.
But when Erasmus offered him the chance to switch allegiance back to his native South Africa, a break was off the cards. Kleyn was straight into camp with the Springboks as they began preparing for the Rugby Championship, which led into the World Cup.
On Saturday night, with his World Cup winner’s medal around his neck, Kleyn laughed about that first call from Erasmus.
“He definitely screwed up my holiday but he gave me an opportunity I never thought I’d have,” said Kleyn.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Rassie and Jacques [Nienaber], the entire coaching team for believing in me and giving me this opportunity, and all my teammates. It’s been such a privilege and a pleasure being part of this amazing dream.”
While Kleyn’s gratitude is strong, it should be said that he grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
He wouldn’t be a World Cup winner had he not settled into life with the Boks so quickly, leading to his involvement off the bench in the final win over New Zealand at Stade de France on Saturday.
“It was as easy as anything, it was riding a bike,” said Kleyn of coming into the camp so soon before the World Cup. “It was coming home.
“I’d known a lot of the lads for years, I’d played with a lot of them at the Stormers and played against them as well.
“It was really very easy for me, the guys made it incredibly easy. They were very accepting. It was all positive from the start. All credit to the team, I couldn’t have been there without them.”
It was also important that Kleyn had support from Munster, who have been proud to see him achieving on the global stage after becoming such a key man for the province in recent years.
The door never reopened with Ireland after Kleyn won five caps in the green jersey in 2019, but he has seized his chance with the Springboks.
While Kleyn has been struck by the sheer scale of the support from the nation of South Africa, he has also benefitted from lots of encouragement from those in Ireland.
“I haven’t checked my phone, but to be honest it was very tough keeping track of everything before I started,” he said on Saturday.
“Listen, the support from home as I call it – Limerick is my home now – is incredible and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support I’ve received, it’s been unreal.”
He has no doubt that the coaching of Graham Rowntree, Mike Prendergast, Denis Leamy, and co. has been crucial to making him a better player and therefore helping him to convince Erasmus that he could be a Springbok.
“All credit to them,” said Kleyn. “The way they coach, the system they’ve implemented. It showed in the URC final, in the way we turned our season around at the death, after seven games and we brought it back and ended up winning.
“You don’t see that often, it shows that everything they’re doing is working. There’s massive buy-in, massive belief at Munster as well. It’s endemic to Munster now, it’s part of our culture, our belief. We’re there to win trophies.”
Kleyn is looking forward to getting back to life with Munster once the celebrations die down, but he will throw himself into that side of things as the Springboks prepare for a four-day trophy tour in South Africa after flying out from France today.
This is an endpoint for this version of the Springboks as the likes of Nienaber and Felix Jones move on, as well as some of the veteran players, but Kleyn will hope to have many more memorable experiences in South African colours.
“There will always be changes, the wheel turns and some of the older players fall out and the younger players come in,” said Kleyn.
“We saw what the younger players have, we’ve got Canan Moodie who is 20-years-old and a phenom.
“There’s probably one guy in every position in South Africa waiting to fill a role. The future is bright for South African rugby.”