Why Schmidt threw his weight behind ‘monster’ Kleyn

Whether you think he is a monster or a perfect specimen, Jean Kleyn’s fellow Ireland forwards believe the Munster lock is the right type to have around for a World Cup campaign.

The debate over Joe Schmidt’s decision to omit experienced lineout leader Devin Toner and instead bring the recently-qualified Kleyn to Japan was not restricted to home shores as the head coach found out when he met the local media for the first time at a welcome press conference at the squad’s hotel by the shores of Tokyo Bay yesterday.

“We wanted to try to have a real balance to our second row. The one thing that we felt we would profit from was having a genuine tighthead second row that we didn’t really have,” Schmidt offered as part of the explanation for Toner’s omission and, by extension, Kleyn’s inclusion.

For all his inexperience at Test level, having made his Ireland debut on August 10, two days after the South African qualified under World Rugby’s residency rules, Kleyn is that genuine tighthead second row.

As the tighthead prop most used to benefitting from the lock’s heft, Munster team-mate John Ryan is in the perfect position to explain Kleyn’s usefulness to the Ireland cause.

“A lot of tightheads get credit for their scrummaging and a lot of being a tighthead is creating a platform so your monster second row can put his weight through you,” Ryan said yesterday.

“As monsters go, he’s pretty big. He’s a big lad. He’s a typical tighthead lock and if you give him the right platform to drive on you’re not going to go backwards.

"You add a flanker onto that, and it’s pretty powerful. He’s a pretty powerful guy and he’s exactly what it says on the tin. He’s a good lifter, good at the ruck, good at the maul, and he’s just an excellent scrummager.”

Though he plays on both sides of the scrum for Ulster, Iain Henderson was Ireland’s tighthead lock in the win over Wales. Yet he understands the reasoning behind Schmidt’s decision to bring Kleyn.

“I think tighthead gets a fair bit more weight put through him, so by that logic you’d want him to have someone slightly heavier behind him and Jean is the perfect specimen for getting a bit of extra weight in,” Henderson said, before adding: “but I think that’s up to the scrum coach to decide who he thinks the best combinations are.”

It is not just pushing in behind the tighthead prop that has got Kleyn noticed. Former Munster forwards coach Jerry Flannery told a story recently about the lock’s early days at the province and a shove he gave fellow second row John Madigan in the line during the newcomer’s first training session.

“I remember the push all right,” Ryan recalled with a chuckle. “He pushed one of the lads in the very first session, that was pretty funny, but he definitely makes his presence felt.

“In training, he might step on a few toes, literally, and throw a few elbows, not even on purpose. He’s just a big, awkward man, not to be too hard on poor Jean, but he’s just a big man. He’s definitely an asset to any team he’s on.”

That includes Ireland, and Ryan has noted the ease with which Kleyn has similarly adapted to an international set-up.

It’s pretty impressive, because Ireland camp is different to Munster and I’m sure it’s different to where he’s come from in South Africa.

“It’s a really detail-focused environment here, and I think he’s adapted really well and I think it’s really hard environment to get used to because you need to be on your task every single time, no matter what it is.

“He’s done that really well, even learning the lineouts and stuff, he’s been brilliant. Fair play to him. He’s in the World Cup squad, so obviously he’s adapted pretty well.”