Jean Kleyn

Jean Kleyn (born (1993-08-26)26 August 1993 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing for Irish Pro12 and European Rugby Champions Cup side Munster. His regular position is lock.

Youth rugby

Kleyn first played provincial rugby for the Western Province U19s during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, also being promoted to the Western Province U21 side in the same season, as well as in 2013. He picked up two winner's medals, with Western Province ending both the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship and 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship seasons as champions. Despite playing regularly for the senior side in 2014, he made a further three appearances in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship.

Western Province / Stormers

Despite being named in the 2013 and 2014 Vodacom Cup squads, Kleyn never made an appearance, suffering a knee injury in 2013 and an ankle injury in 2014.

He was included in the Stormers squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season. Despite missing the early part of the season with his ankle injury, Kleyn recovered to be named in the starting line-up for their match against the Bulls in Pretoria, but ended on the losing side as the home team won 28–12. A further three appearances off the bench followed in May 2014. In the second half of 2014, Kleyn was a key player for Western Province in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, starting ten matches during the season. The final two of his starts came in their 31–23 semi-final victory over the Blue Bulls and the final, in which Kleyn played the entire 80 minutes, helping his side to a 19–16 victory over the Golden Lions to win his first senior trophy.

Kleyn established himself as a regular in the Stormers squad during the 2015 Super Rugby season, appearing in thirteen of their seventeen matches, including five starts. He helped the Stormers finish top of the South African Conference, and also played in their qualifier against the Brumbies, a match won by the Australian visitors to eliminate the Stormers from the competition. He once again was a key player for a Western Province team attempting to retain their Currie Cup title in the 2015 competition, playing in all twelve matches, of which he started eleven. The team finished third on the log and Kleyn started their 23–18 victory over the Blue Bulls in the semi-final and the final, where his side could not emulate their 2014 result, losing 24–32 to the Golden Lions.

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. During the international break, Kleyn started two matches for Western Province in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series, the first of those being a match against the Leopards during which Kleyn scored his first try in senior rugby, scoring ten minutes from time to help his side to a 43–34 victory. He was included in the Stormers touring squad for their trip to Australia to face the Rebels and the Force, but failed to be included in their matchday squad. He eventually made his only appearance of the season in their 52–24 victory over the Kings in their final match of the regular season.

Munster

Kleyn secured an early release from his contract with Western Province in July 2016, leaving South Africa to join Irish Pro12 side Munster on a three-year contract prior to the 2016–17 Pro12 season. On 3 September 2016, 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 17 September 2016, Kleyn scored his first try for Munster in their 16-20 win against Newport Gwent Dragons. The match was also his first start for the province.