Jean Kleyn has made the international switch from Ireland to South Africa.

He is a tall presence on the field and is skilled at scrum time, here are some things you should know about him.

Related: South Africa select Ireland international in Rugby Championship squad

Ten things you should know about Jean Kleyn

1. Jean Kleyn was born on 26 August 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He stands at 6ft 8in (2.03m) and weighs 19st 1lb (121kg).

2. He plays for Munster but has previously competed for the Stormers and Western Province.

3. Kleyn won caps for Ireland in 2019 after qualifying through residency. He chose to switch allegiance to South Africa in 2023.

4. He was named in South Africa’s Rugby World Cup training squad in 2023. The Springboks face Ireland in their pool.

5. Kleyn has won the United Rugby Championship with Munster in the 2022/23 season.

6. He won his first cap for South Africa in their Rugby Championship match against Australia in July 2023.

Read more: South Africa Rugby World Cup squad

7. Kleyn told Independent.ie on playing alongside Tadhg Beirne: “Tadhg is an excellent player. We both learn a little bit of each other, more so me off him. He does a lot of the work that I don’t get to do,.

“The same way the other way around, I do a lot of the work that he doesn’t get to. We complement each other well. It’s been good playing with him.”

8. He has told The 42 on his hard work: “[When I started playing] I could barely catch a ball, never mind pass a ball. The way I got in was through the hard work – the stuff that no one wants to do, like hitting rucks and defending mauls and scrummaging well, the stuff that doesn’t take a whole lot of technique.

“I’m sure that I ended up playing above a lot of players that were more talented than me, just through hard work. I worked hard in the gym, worked hard on my fitness, and that’s what probably got me my way into playing professional rugby, rather than skill or talent.

“It was my general mindset and my willingness to work.”

9. He and partner Aisling have a son, Eli, together.

10. Kleyn has been on a safari and documented the trip, where he saw elephants, on his social media.

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