Kleyn shrugs off Ireland backlash over late selection
Jean Kleyn has said the backlash against his controversial Ireland selection will not affect him and he is relishing the prospect of taking on Scotland in a crunch opening clash.
Having nabbed Devin Toner’s spot in Ireland’s 31-man World Cup squad at the 11th hour – less than a month after qualifying for his adopted country – the giant South Africa-born lock has become a lightning rod for controversy.
Not only were fans and pundits up in arms over World Rugby’s residency rule, there were also those questioning the wisdom of dropping veteran line-out specialist Toner for a man who had only played two internationals, one of which saw Ireland thumped 57-15 by England at Twickenham where the line-out malfunctioned spectacularly.
So it was to Kleyn’s credit that he not only answered all questions calmly, but with good humour. Asked how his first World Cup experience was going so far, the 6ft 8in lock replied, deadpan: “The doors are quite low. But other than that, it’s been brilliant.”
On the controversy, he was predictably diplomatic: “There was always going to be a bit of a backlash. I don’t read it, and I try not to read into it too much. I’m here to do a job and hopefully I can do that well.”
Certainly, as he towered over the assembled media yesterday, it was not hard to see why Joe Schmidt, the Ireland coach, is a fan. Toner may be even taller, at 6ft 10in, but Kleyn’s heft is more obvious; more muscular. The 26-year-old has clearly been brought in for his rucking and power at scrums.
It could backfire. Ireland’s lineout was a disaster at Twickenham but there may have been any number of reasons for that, only one of which would be Kleyn’s lack of mobility.
With Ireland expected to try to bully Scotland up front, there are many who now think Schmidt will start with Kleyn alongside James Ryan, with Iain Henderson making an impact from the bench.
Kleyn said it would be an “honour” if he did get the nod, adding that he felt he was improving with every game at this level. “Has it been a big step up? I’d say even more than I expected. There’s no room for error and there’s not much allowance for it either, so you’ve got to be at your best the whole time.”
Keith Earls and Rob Kearney remain doubts to face Scotland despite defence coach Andy Farrell saying that he expected both to be available for selection after they took part in training yesterday.