Former Irish lock Jean Kleyn has been given the green light to play for the Springboks.
World Rugby has confirmed that 29-year-old Kleyn, who was born in Johannesburg, meets the necessary regulatory requirements.
The regulation in question, which came into force at the start of 2022, allows players to be selected for their country of birth (or their parents’ or grandparents’ country of birth) once a period of at least three years has passed where the player has not played Test rugby did not for the country for which he made his bow.
The former Stormer and WP lock moved to Ireland in 2016 and qualified for selection in 2019. He was selected for Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad that year and made five appearances. He was not chosen again later.
Kleyn, who stands two meters tall in his boots, made more than 130 appearances for Munster and was part of their United Rugby Championship winning team in Cape Town last month.
Kleyn has been training with the Boks for the past month and is now eligible for selection as early as next month when the Springboks’ 2023 season kicks off against Australia at Loftus Versfeld.
